The species is found in North Africa, southern and central Europe, Turkey, southern Russia, the central and southern Urals, Kazakhstan and the Himalayas. In Central Europe they occur in the warmer regions, but have become generally rare. By contrast, they are still common in the Mediterranean and Southern Alps. They live in sparse forests and their edges, on dry shrubbery and in orchards. It is an extreme rarity in Britain, although it used to be widespread throughout England and Wales. Most of the specimens seen in Britain are thought to be captive-bred releases. These butterflies mainly inhabit woodland, especially with sallows (willows). However, there are indications that the large tortoiseshell is recolonising southern England.
The larvae feed on Vaccinium oxycoccos, Empetrum nigrum, bilberry and other cranberry and Empetrum species.
L. optilete Knoch (79 b). This species is quite out of place in the present group of Lycaena in characters as well as habits, and would be much better placed in a later group than here where it stands in Staudinger-Rebel's Catalogue. Both wings very broad and their outer margins strongly rounded. Male above very dull dark violet-blue, sometimes with a broader black margin, sometimes without black margin. In the female only the basal half of the upperside is dusted with glossy blue scales. Underside dirty dust-grey, the ocelli very large, often distorted; only the anal area of the hindwing beneath bears orange spots before the margin, from which they are separated by two large round dots with metallic centres. More in the North, in Central and North Europe as far as Scandinavia and the Baltic provinces, sporadic, on moors, also in the Alps in damp larch-woods, locally abundant. — Now and again the species appears in a smaller form, especially in the high Alps (Valais, Engadine), in Lapland, North Einland, and North Siberia. This is cyparissus Hbn. (79 b). Its underside is purer dust -grey, the black spots are smaller, more compact, sharper, more regularly arranged, less distorted or widened; the anal red of the hindwing beneath is usually reduced to one or 2 sharply defined spots, not being smear-like or dull as in true optilete. — The two forms are connected not only by the specimens from the Amur — sibirica Stgr. — , but also by transitions frequently found in West Siberia and Europe and sometimes approaching the one form and sometimes the other. The alpine specimens — cyparissus — cannot be separated from the northern ones, as optilete also flies in the Alps and cyparissus in the North. However, the individuals from the High Alps and the High North appear to incline more towards cyparissus, while the form flying on the Sphagnum-swamps of the warmer plains — particularly in North Germany — is the most normal optilete — In the Ural there flies a form with the ground-colour beneath black-grey; this is uralensis Courv. i. l. — ab. subtusradiata Favre are specimens in which the distortion of the ocelli has led to the appearance of rays. — Larva pale green, densely clothed with minute silky reddish yellow hair, and adorned with a light-yellow black-bordered lateral stripe; until June on Vaccinium myrtillus. Pupa rounded, obtuse, anteriorly dotted with small yellowish red hairs, green with yellow abdominal segments. The butterflies from the end of June towards September, locally plentiful, on moors, also in woods of high trees, where it is usually the only Blue found. The butterflies occur there mostly on more open places where there is a bush in the centre from which the males make short excursions. In the Alps often at small rills, here sometimes in large numbers (Zermatt, Eiffelhaus) and often in company with other Lycaenas. In consequence of the broad wings the flight is a little different from that of other Blues, recalling the flight of Cyaniris argiolus, but is low . In the Bucovina the species has been obtained at the end of June and in September, which however is no definite proof that there are two broods.
The luna moth (Actias luna), also called the American moon moth, is a Nearctic moth in the family Saturniidae, subfamily Saturniinae, a group commonly named the giant silk moths.
The moth has lime-green wings and a white body. Its caterpillars are also green. Its typical wingspan is roughly 114 mm (4.5 in), but wingspans can exceed 178 mm (7.0 in), ranking the species as one of the larger moths in North America.
Across Canada, it has one generation per year, with the winged adults appearing in late May or early June, whereas farther south it will have two or even three generations per year, the first appearance as early as March in southern parts of the United States.
Altinote stratonice is a species of insects with 267 observations.
Glaucopsyche alexis, the green-underside blue, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in the Palearctic.
The butterfly flies from April to July depending on the location, lingering in warm, lush meadows with plenty of its host plant, vetch (Vicia).
The wingspan is 33–40 mm in males and 35–42 mm in females. Its flight period is year-round.
Larvae feed on Capparis species.
The large white is common throughout Europe, North Africa and Asia.
The large white is common throughout Europe, north Africa, and Asia to the Himalayas often in agricultural areas, meadows and parkland. It has managed to establish a population in South Africa and in 1995 it was predicted to spread to Australia and New Zealand.
The large white is a strong flier and the British population is reinforced in most years by migrations from the continent. Scattered reports of the large white from the north-eastern United States (New York, Rhode Island and Maine) over the past century are of a dubious nature and indicate either accidental transport or intentional release. Such introductions threaten to establish this agricultural pest in North America.
In 2010 the butterfly was found in Nelson, New Zealand where it is known as the great white butterfly. It is classed as an unwanted pest due to the potential effect on crops. For a limited period in October 2013 the Department of Conservation offered a monetary reward for the capture of the butterfly. After two weeks, the public had captured 134 butterflies, netting $10 for each one handed in. As a result of this and other containment measures, such as over 263,000 searches in the upper South Island and the release of predatory wasps, the large white was officially declared to be eradicated from New Zealand as of December 2014
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The wingspan is about 30–40 millimetres (1.2–1.6 in). Adults are black with a blue band on each wing. The underside is red and white with black stripes that look like an outlined number "89" or "98".
The larvae feed on Trema lamarckiana, Trema micrantha, and Theobroma.
Gonepteryx cleopatra, the Cleopatra or Cleopatra butterfly, is a medium-sized butterfly of the family Pieridae.
Gonepteryx cleopatra is a medium-sized butterfly with a wingspan of about 50–70 mm (2.0–2.8 in). It is a sexually dimorphic species; the female has pale yellow or greenish wings, whereas the male is darker yellow with an orange patch on the forewing. Both sexes have a forewing apical hook and brown dots in the center of each wing, and the underside of wings is light greenish yellow. The greenish color, the shape and the pronounced venation on the hindwings give to these butterflies a good camouflage, making them resemble just leaves.
The wings of the male have a yellow ground colour, the females have a greenish-white ground colour, only the underside of the hind wings is yellowish. The upper wing side of both sexes has a dusted dark brown to black marginal band, which is only narrow on the hind wings. In the cell of the forewings there is a black spot on the upper and lower sides. The males have on the upperside of the hind wings in the cell an orange spot with a red border, on the underside this spot is bright and clearly outlined in red. This spot may be divided into two by the red border, so that it resembles an eight similar to Colias hyale and other yellow members of the genus Colias. In the females, the orange spot on the top of the hind wings is not bordered. The caterpillars , on the other hand, clearly differ from the caterpillars of Colias hyale after the second moult. Both caterpillars are green, however, the caterpillar of Colias alfacariensis has four eye-catching yellow lines with black dots while the caterpillar of the Colias hyale has only two thin side lines.
Description in Seitz
A. euphenoides is distinguished in both sexes only by the colour and markings of the underside of the hindwing. In the females the colour of the apical area of the upperside of forewing is very variable, for there occur also specimens with rather large reddish yellow patch. — ab. lecithosa Tur., hitherto only found in South France, has no orange patch in the male, but, like the female of this form, a sulphur-yellow apical spot. — Larva greenish, with yellow and black dorsal markings , white lateral stripes and large black dots, head green; in autumn on Biscutella species; it is a so-called cannibal-caterpillar. Pupa light brown, also green, very strongly incurved (Spuler).
This typically mountain species prefers hills and flowery alpine meadows and pastures of the continental European mountains, in Spain, Scandinavia and Central Europe, in the Balkans up to northern Greece and in the Alps between Italy and France.
Habitat of Parnassius apollo in La Thuile, Italy, at about 2700 m above sea level
It is also present in some areas of the central Asia (Sakha). Typical of high altitudes, its range is from 400 metres (1,300 ft) up to 2,300 metres (7,500 ft), although it is far more present above 1,000 metres (3,300 ft).
This species requires specific climatic conditions (cold winter, sunny summer). It also requires wide open spaces (with a cover of shrubs less than 5%) and a large surface of lawns (at least 50%). The presence of the host plant for the caterpillars is critical.
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The larvae feed on Leguminosae species.
Subspecies
C. f. fieldii Yunnan, India
C. f. chinensis Verity, 1909 S.Ussuri
Accepted as a species by Josef Grieshuber & Gerardo Lamas
The wingspan is 28–30 millimetres (1.1–1.2 in). The butterfly flies from April to October, depending on the location and subspecies (L. t. subalpina is univoltine in July).
The larvae feed on Rumex acetosa and Rumex acetosella.
Mylothris agathina agathina is a subspecies of insects with 1393 observations.
AppearanceThe lower surfaces of the back wings are yellowish and have only a few black dots; there are characteristic white marks in the immediate vicinity of these. The species exhibits one kind of sexual dimorphism: male butterflies are colored bright gold-red on the upper side of wing, while the females have broader orange wings with a dark design.
A generation appears from mid-July to mid-September.
Eggs are laid on dried-out plant parts, for example on dry sorrel stems. The eggs are white in color and somewhat larger than those of other Lycaena species. The caterpillars are green and nocturnal and eat sorrel. Lycaena virgaureae is the only species of this genus whose eggs last over the winter. The butterflies feed on blossoms of such plants as the ground-elder, Eupatorium, Valeriana, and burnet saxifrage.
The wingspan is about 30–40 millimetres (1.2–1.6 in). Adults are black with a blue band on each wing. The underside is red and white with black stripes that look like an outlined number "89" or "98".
The larvae feed on Trema lamarckiana, Trema micrantha, and Theobroma.
Their flight is slow and they are reasonably easy to approach, but will fly for some distance if approached too closely.
The upperside of the wings is dark reddish brown with the forewing sometimes having white submarginal spots. The veins are lightly marked with black. Males have a black scent patch on each of the hindwings. The underside of the wings is also dark brown with a postmedian band made up of squarish spots. The soldier has a wingspan of 2+1⁄2 to 3+1⁄2 inches (64–76 mm).species which has more white markings on the hindwing underside.
Similar species
Similar species in the soldier's range include the monarch (Danaus plexippus) and the queen (Danaus gilippus).
The monarch is more orange, has heavier black-lined veins, and the underside of the wings is a pale yellowish color.
The wingspan is 60–72 mm. Not to be confused with Theretra oldenlandiae in being very much paler in color and with a white line down the center of the abdomen. The forewing has a silvery line beyond the oblique brown band. Other parts are ochreous. Larvae are exceedingly variable, from yellow green and green to brown or greyish black ones. But the commonly found color of larva is green with a reddish-brown dorsal area. There is a subdorsal paler line with equal-sized ocelli from 4th to 10th somites with green center. The horn is reddish brown as well.
Both the upper and lower wings are bright white, with some small light brown markings. There is a row of small eyespots on the underside of the hindwings.
The caterpillar has been known to eat Paullinia pinnata (family Sapindaceae) and Inga (family Fabaceae).
The species epithet is derived from Polyphemus, a character in Greek mythology, from the small eyespots on the wing. Polyphemus was the one-eyed son of Poseidon and Thoosa.
The length of the forewings is 24 to 28 mm. Upperside of male black-brown, with a dark sheen in live specimens: the 2 ocelli of the forewing mostly represented only by the small bluish white pupils. In old specimens, with the ground-colour faded, the pupil is bordered with deep black. Between the ocelli of the forewing sometimes 2 minute white dots. The number of the ocelli may be enlarged or diminished as in all Satyrus, e. g. merula Schultz, ornata Schultz. In the female the distal band is indicated by a paler, sometimes yellowish brown tint, and the ocelli are considerably larger than in the male. Underside different in the various forms, with a distinctly defined distal ban, a dark dentate line in the cell and across the hindwing, and a somewhat irregular submarginal line.
The butterfly is on wing in July and August in one generation. The habitat is rocky places at 600 to 1,800 m. The larvae feed on various grasses (Brachypodium and Bromus sp. and sedges).
Bands one and two of the hindwing usually extend beyond the second submedian, band four mostly goes beyond the middle of the cell and sometimes reaches to its hinder margin, the transparent submarginal band has at least in the costal third brownish scales; hindwing more strongly dentate than in Protesilaus glaucolaus leucas. Frons in specimens from the Andes often entirely brownish black. Dorsal edge of the harpe dilated into a tooth, which is sometimes absent in specimens from the Andes. Submarginal spots of the hindwing white, rarely slightly yellowish, hindwing more strongly dentate than in Protesilaus glaucolaus, the first and second bands of the forewing on the whole shorter than in Protesilaus molops. Frons sometimes entirety brown black. The scent-scales very long and thin. The dorsal edge of the harpe deflexed, lying flat on the harpe, strongly dentate.
This species is present almost throughout the year, with three or four successive generations. The eggs are laid separately on the underside of the leaves of the host plant. The larval cycle is exceptionally short. The pupation takes place among the low vegetation, between a few leaves united by silk. This species may overwinter at all larval stages.
Adults are strong flyers and fly from March to October. The heat-dependent caterpillars feed on Viola species (wild pansy or heartsease (Viola tricolor), field pansy (Viola arvensis), Viola canina, Viola odorata, Viola calcarata, Viola lutea, Viola biflora), lucerne (Medicago sativa), borage (Borago officinalis), Anchusa, Rubus and Onobrychis species.
In the dry regions Issoria lathonia carries out a seasonal vertical migration between hardy evergreen shrubs and small trees of plains and mountain fir pines, where it remains in summer to descend in autumn at low altitude.
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Melitaea didyma is a medium-sized butterfly with a wingspan reaching 35–50 millimetres (1.4–2.0 in). The overside of the wings is a bright orange-brown with dark brown markings arranged in rows, which are quite variable in quantity and size. Sometimes the colour of the females is a duller orange, shaded with grey-green. The underside of the wings is chequered pale yellow and pale orange. M. didyma has seasonal forms and sexual dimorphism. The male is fiery red, with a narrow dentate black distal border and a moderate number of small black dots and spots, which are dispersed over the basal half of the wing and end with a short band extending beyond the cell from the costa into the disc. On the underside, which is very abundantly marked with small black dots and hooks, a flexuose subbasal band and a curved submarginal one are situated on a delicately greenish, or yellowish, white ground. In the female the forewing and the anal area of the hindwing are much paler, being moreover dusted with blackish, while the costal half of the hindwing has preserved the red tint : the whole wings are much more abundantly but less prominently marked with black. There occur sometimes specimens with a blue gloss on the upperside.
