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Chazara persephone (Hübner, [1805])  Great Steppe Grayling                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   21603-BRACHA-PARPAR - 21603-BRACHA-PARPAR | 6 - B | 21-12-22 | 12:22:47 | SR:-- | Cyan   #21603-BRACHA-PARPAR - 21603-


 This is the only satyrine recorded from all countries   for nearly one hundred years (John et al., 2011; DB
 of the Levant, where it is local and mostly rare across   approved its identity) and mirrors the cryptic behaviour
 the region. Despite once being reported as abundant   of  persephone experienced in Upper Galilee. These
 in Lebanon, Larsen found the species to be very   appear to be rare examples of a species surviving in tiny,   Lekking ?
 scarce from 1970-1975 (Larsen & Nakamura, 1983).   isolated populations for long periods, with no apparent   © Christodoulos Makris  © Christodoulos Makris  © Dubi Benyamini
 C.  persephone is a cryptic, possibly non-migratory   genetic decline. The female has a larger wingspan than
 and a particularly interesting species that may remain   the male and has a second, uncommon form where the   Ļ  Ļ
 undetected for many years in some habitats, e.g. Saint   white stripes on the wing are replaced with orange – f.
 Katherine (1600-2000 m), S Sinai Massif, Egypt, where a   hanifa; a rare male of this form was recorded from Mt
 specimen was collected by James in 2001 (Mike James,   Hermon on 17.6.2013 (leg. O. Tomer – illustr.). Female                          DGXOW
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 pers. comm. to EJ). Until then, its presence in Sinai had   f.  hanifa resemble  Pseudochazara  thelephassa except                         HJJ  1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9   10  11  12
                       lar v a
 eluded Wiltshire (1948), Benyamini (1983) and Larsen   for the eyespots (which are blind in  C.  persephone)            pupa  © Dubi Benyamini
 (1990). In the high mountains of South Sinai, it possibly   and the lack of two small white forewing ocelli located
 inhabits steep areas with large, smooth-faced sandstone   beneath the subapical eyespot, and present in all Levant
 boulders bearing fissures that trap rainwater, allowing   Pseudochazara spp. Mud puddling was observed on Mt
 rich growth of grasses and producing a unique type of   Hermon (1600 m) in June and September (Kirshenbaum   Ļ  Ļ
 biotope, naturally protected from grazing.  Hipparchia   et al., 2016; Moshe, 2017; DB, pers. obs.). In autumn,   © Dubi Benyamini  © Dubi Benyamini
 pisidice shares similar biotopes, although this is much   a greater number of adults (males and females) are
 more common. Gilbert & Zalat (2007:119) considered   seen at the top of Mt Hermon (2050 m) than on its
 persephone non-resident in Egypt (i.e. west of the Gulf   lower slopes, suggesting hilltopping prior to mating and/
 of Suez). Similar biotopes may be inhabited at Jebel al   or midsummer aestivation at higher elevations, as with
 Lawz (2580 m) Hejaz, NW Saudi Arabia, on the eastern   Hipparchia cypriensis (John & Parker, 2002). In captivity,
 side of the Red Sea opposite Sinai, as well as in Petra   specimens mated in September.
 (900-1000 m), Edom and Jordan. In NE Jordan, several
 specimens were collected by Lockhart at Qasr Azrak and
 Zerqa on the fringes of the eastern desert, between May   %LRORJ\
 and September 1927 (Larsen & Nakamura, 1983), but
 none were placed in the national collections in Amman   )OLJKW  SHULRG  late May to September in a single   © Dubi Benyamini  © Irit Kovachi
 and Irbid (Katbeh-Bader et al., 2003 and pers. comm.).   annual brood (in captivity, gravid females survived
 Similarly, although present in a completely different   until November). Flies from sl to 2500 m in the Cedar
 type of biotope in Israel, a local population exists deep   Mts, Lebanon (Larsen 1974: 134); at Banias (Jordan
 inside the Mediterranean forest of Upper Galilee around   River source) & Mt Hermon, from 350 m to 2100+ m;
 Mt Meron, where the perfectly camouflaged persephone   1545-2602 m at Al-Lazzab reserve Syrian Anti-Lebanon
 remains motionless during summer aestivation. The   (Zarikian & Ghrejyan, 2018)     H. s. syriaca
 few available records relate to its short flight activity
 following the spring emergence, and again in the   /LIH  KLVWRU\  univoltine. Breeding of Mt Hermon
 autumn when they mate and oviposit. This was typified   persephone was undertaken in DB laboratory every
 by a rare sighting of a female disturbed on 20.5.2015   year from 2012 to 2016. Males and females were
 during monitoring of deep forest N of Kfar Shamai (633   collected at the first sign of falling temperatures (third   © Christodoulos Makris  © Dubi Benyamini
 m), Upper Galilee (Ofir Tomer and DB, pers. obs.). The   week of August at 1600 to 2050 m), and caged with   reddish-brown; a small black protrusion of a spiracle exists
 week of 14-21 May 2020 was the hottest ever reported   their preferred nectar sources, Cirsium phyllocephalum   over each eye. Adults hatched after seven weeks. In the lab,
 for this period in the Levant with day temperatures   (Asteraceae) and  Cephalaria stellipilis  (Caprifoliaceae),   with warmer temperatures and a continuous food supply, the
 over 40°C in C Israel and nearly 50°C on the northern   and provided with dry grasses. The cage was sprayed   first adult hatched on 8 April 2013, about a month earlier
 coasts of the Red sea. It did not prevent this, perhaps an   with mineral water once every couple of days, but   than is normal in its natural environment in Cyprus (Makris,
 enigma butterfly to appear “on time” in new unexpected   intake was rare in preference to nectaring. The cages   2003: 240).
 places faraway from any known population; on 19 May   were placed near a west-facing window receiving direct
 2020 in Kibbutz Mesilot -112m. 2 km W Beit She’an,   afternoon and evening sun. Courting specimens were   5HFRUGHG KRVWSODQWV  Poaceae (Gramineae) – Piptatherum
 C Jordan Valley, mid-day temp. over 40°C, where in   observed on the walls of the breeding cages between   spp. are preferred in Cyprus while Brachypodium and Holcus
 18:00 hours Ma’ayan Ashkenazi irrigated his garden   11 and 26 September. Males were seen to flit in circles   spp. were reported by Tshikolovets (2011: 421) and Holcus
 when a perfect  persephone  male  was observed and   around the females, which sometimes behaved similarly.   by Tuzov et al., (1997: 241, citing Nekrutenko, 1990).
 photographed nectaring on Duranta erecta, no less than   With wings vibrating, males approached the female
 54 km from its nearest known population in Mt Meron.   from the side, or faced head-to-head, angling wings
 A day later on 20.5.2020 during the same super-hot   forward, releasing pheromones and raising and lowering   'LVWULEXWLRQ
 weather a specimen was observed by Marva Shmueli in   antennae towards the female, while her antennae point
 her monitoring track in the Botanical garden of Oranim   forward, 90º apart; females sometimes vibrated wings to   TL: Beirut. Distributed from the Dalmatian S coast of Croatia,
 Academic College at Kiryat Tivon nectaring on Limonium   repel. Unreceptive females either flip wings to deter the   eastwards through the Balkans and some Mediterranean
 sp. It is only 3 km from Mt Carmel wherefrom it was   male, before raising and concealing the abdomen within   H. s. cypriaca Oberthür, 1894  islands to Turkey, the Caucasus, N Iraq, W & NW Iran. In the
 last recorded by von Kalchberg (1897) ca 127 years   closed wings, or drop to the bottom of the cage, quickly   Levant, the nominotypical subspecies  Hipparchia syriaca
 ago! (Benyamini, 2020h – both enigmatic specimens   regaining position afterwards. Matings, lasting 1.5-2.5   syriaca is present in south-east Turkey, Syria and Lebanon
 illustr.). In June 2010, a well camouflaged specimen was   hours, were observed between 17 and 26 September,   (absent from Israel, Jordan and Sinai). Kudrna, (1977: 37),
 photographed by Daniel and Hilary Haines as it alighted   with eggs laid from 22 September to 30 November; the   Olivier, (1983: 196) and Hesselbarth  et al., (1995: 896)
 briefly on a cleared bank in Kantara Forest (500 m),   first L1 emerged on 30 September. A female that was   recognized an endemic subspecies for Cyprus:  Hipparchia
 northern Cyprus. This was the first report from the island   collected on 22 August 2012, laid the first eggs on 30   © Dubi Benyamini  syriaca cypriaca (Staudinger, 1879); TL: Kypern (Cyprus).
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