| Aetherie fritillary | |
|---|---|
| |
| Male | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Clade: | Pancrustacea |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Nymphalidae |
| Genus: | Melitaea |
| Species: | M. aetherie
|
| Binomial name | |
| Melitaea aetherie (Hübner, 1826)
| |
| Synonyms | |
|
Melitaea aetherea (lapsus) | |
The aetherie fritillary (Melitaea aetherie) is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae.
Distribution
It is found locally in mountain areas of North Africa and very locally in southern Spain, southern Portugal, Sicily and southern Italy.1
Biology
The insect flies from mid-April until the end of May with a second generation in September in Italy. The habitat is open grasslands and flowery meadows. The larvae feed on various Centaurea knapweeds. The flowers of Centaurea also attract the nectar-feeding adults.1
Description
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♀ -
![♀ On the upper side, there is a discal band and a row of well separated round spots. The post discal band is very lightly marked in the male. The hind wing post discal row lacks black spots. The upper sides ground color is very uniform.[1]](/api/ext/img?url=https%3A%2F%2Fupload.wikimedia.org%2Fwikipedia%2Fcommons%2Fthumb%2Fe%2Fea%2F%2528MHNT%2529_Melitaea_aetherie_-_Scillato_Sicile_-_female_ventral.jpg%2F500px-%2528MHNT%2529_Melitaea_aetherie_-_Scillato_Sicile_-_female_ventral.jpg)
♀ On the upper side, there is a discal band and a row of well separated round spots. The post discal band is very lightly marked in the male. The hind wing post discal row lacks black spots. The upper sides ground color is very uniform.1
References
References
- "Melitaea aetherie ¦ Aetherie's Fritillary ¦ euroButterflies". www.eurobutterflies.com. Retrieved 2024-12-08.