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6XEIDPLO\ +HOLFRQLLQDH Issoria lathonia Limenitis reducta Staudinger, 1901 Southern White Admiral
A hilltopping species, resembling Melitaea spp., but
differing by the highly distinctive mother-of-pearl markings
on the hindwing underside. The female is larger, with
heavier black upperside markings and more noticeable
green scaling near the body. The adults frequently bask on
bare ground, with males behaving territorially. Hilltopping
males were observed on 15 June 1974 circling the top of Mt
Hermon (2814 m, DB pers. obs.). The species is a known
migrant and in N Europe its populations are replenished
annually by migrations from the south, sometimes
penetrating well into northern latitudes. Common in
Hatay, S Turkey’s Amanos Mountains (Atahan et al., 2018:
61). On 26.5.2016 it was observed and photographed for
the first time by Yiannis Makriyianni at Pano Amiantos,
Troodos, Cyprus (Makris pers. comm.). Uncommon in the
Levant, where rarely more than one specimen is observed
at a time. However on 9 June 2018 exceptionally fifteen
specimens were observed on Mt Hermon local peak at
2050 m (Kirshenbaum, 2018a & 2018b). Occasionally, but
rarely, penetrates N Israel from S Lebanon; on 9 May 1984
a hilltopping male, the first record to Israel, was collected
by Yitzhak Movshovits on the top of Kibbutz Menara (870
m) on the Lebanese SE border (Benyamini, 1984b). In
their Viola tricolor garden in Kibbutz Eilon (330 m) two km
S of the border with Lebanon Oren & Gadi Ish-Am observed
their first lathonia specimen in June 1990. A year later in
mid- June 1991 they collected a worn migrant and during
late June-July fresh specimens of local breeding colony
(Benyamini, 1991b). On 21 July 2007 a fourth penetration
of lathonia was recorded by DB, Oren, Dolev & Gadi Ish-
Am inside Kibbutz Sasa (878 m, 3.2 km from S Lebanon
border); on 10:30 AM hilltopping males were patrolling a
35 m - long backyard of a house near the peak of Sasa
hill with cultivated Viola tricolor LHP, nectaring on yellow
and violet flowers of Lantana, Buddleja davidii and orange
flowers of Tagetes sp. driving out passing specimens of
Pieris rapae, Vanessa cardui and hilltopping males of
Papilio machaon. On 11:30 AM inside the Kibbutz a
female was nectaring on Vitex agnus-castus and on 15:30
another female landed on Viola tricolor in Gadi’s garden
to lay eggs. All specimens observed on this day were fresh,
possibly of local 2nd brood (Ish-Am & Benyamini, 2007).
Ish-Am (2007) tried to find correlation between annual
rainfall and the appearance of rare Lebanese migrants
to northern Israel and found that I. lathonia arrived in
dry years with 67.3% (1991) and 89.4% (2007) of the
annual rainfall suggesting that their migration to Israel
was aiming to look for hostplants and nectar sources. In
courting, the male chases the female until she lands, then
approach her by foot while vibrating his wings. A female
rejected the male advance by flying away. Copulation last
4-5 hours and a female was observed laying eggs about
two days later (Lafranchis et al., 2015: 530-531). Rated
Endangered (EN) in the Israeli Red List of Butterflies due
to its small population (Renan et al., 2022 (in prep.)).
%LRORJ\
)OLJKW SHULRG April to October, 1000 m to upper heights
(2200+ m) in Lebanon (Larsen 1974: 121); May-July,
1500-2814 m in Mt. Hermon; April-July, 450-2000 m in
Hatay (Atahan et al., 2018: 61); 1545-2602 m in Al-Lazzab
reserve Syrian Anti-Lebanon (Zarikian & Ghrejyan, 2018).
130 © Limor Gefen
In its gliding flight, spectacular L. reducta frequents
sunny glades in open woodland and ravines in which its
hostplant is found. A territorial species, the male patrols
along its territory 10-15 m long (Shnei-Dor, 2000) or 20+
m (Benyamini, 2006e & field notes) chasing away other
butterflies before returning to a favoured perch, a typical
ravining species (territorial in ravines). Few puddling
records in Israel (Beit Arye, 2 September 2014 (Benyamini,
2014a), Mt Hermon 1600 m 12 June 2019 on the banks
of water pool for snow production (Benyamini & Tomer,
2019)), but “often visits mud at springs and streams”
in Cyprus (Makris, 2003: 222). Fruit puddling/feeding
on rotten figs, reducta‘s preferred food, was observed DGXOW
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
5
HJJ
twice in Beit Arye by the author: on 2 September 2006 lar v a 1 1 2 2 3 4 4 5 6 6 6 7 7 8 8 8 9 9 9 1 1 1 0 0 0 11 1 2
pupa
and on 17 August 2014 (Benyamini, 2006d & 2014d).
Balint et al., (2016) suggest that “In certain years there
are migrations when the species is able to colonize new
habitats temporarily…especially evident at the edge of the
species’ range (i.e, ecotone) like in Israel and Jordan” –
however the author cannot support it yet by any evidence
in the S Levant. In aerial courting the male flies around
the female or follow her in formation flight (Benyamini,
2003i, illustr.1). On ground, courting was observed on 11
May 2012 in Godrim valley N Israel near the Lebanese
border; after landing male approached the female behind
with closed or open wings no more than ten cm away while
the female opened and closed her wings continuously.
The female did not let him get too close and kept walking
on ground and on stones or flying shortly and landing on
various plants, it proceeded several minutes along ~ two
meters the male permanently ca ten cm behind. But then
the female started to run among stones and after 30 cm
took off to very low flight and landed some 20 metres
away. The male did not succeed to follow and thus lost
the female (Benyamini, 2012g & illustr. 2). Female carries L. r. schiffermüelleri Higgins, 1993
the male in cop. - illustr. 3 (Observed by Laudon & Ben-Or
in Ein Karem, Jerusalem and by Marios Aristophanous in
Cyprus - pers. comms. to DB). One of very few butterflies
with oriental origin in the Levant.
%LRORJ\
)OLJKW SHULRG Early April to late October, 65 m (Mt Carmel
coast & Yokne’am) - 1950 m (Mt Hermon) Israel; April-
October, 300-1950 m at the Troodos summit in Cyprus
(Makris, 2003: 222); In Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon ranges
Larsen found it “most common in the autumnal broods
from mid-July till October” from sl to “at least 1800 m”
(Larsen, 1974: 111); April-October, sl-1850 m in Hatay
(Atahan et al., 2018: 46); 1545-2029 m at Al-Lazzab
reserve Syrian Anti-Lebanon (Zarikian & Ghrejyan, 2018);
May-August, 500-700 m in N Jordan (Larsen & Nakamura,
1983; Katbeh-Bader et al., 2003). L. r. herculeana Stichel, 1908
/LIH KLVWRU\ up to four annual broods, depending on
altitude. Eggs are laid singly, rarely two, on the LHP’s
leaf upper surface. The hemispherical egg is 0.8-1 mm
in height, greenish with honeycomb surface structure
covered with bristles, gets yellowish hue and dark cap
of the reflected larval head before eclosion. L1 emerges
after 6 to 14 days pending external temperature and eats
the eggshell for its first meal. It is 1.6-1.8 mm long, brown- © Dubi Benyamini
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