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          Melitaea athalia Rottemburg, 1775                      Heath Fritillary



          A rare butterfly in the Levant, highly sedentary fritillary
          showing much regional variation. Of the several  Melitaea
          spp. having similar wing morphology to M. athalia, this is the
          only species found in the Levant, where it flies along forest
 #
          margins, openings and damp habitats. Males are attracted
          to animal droppings and patrol low over the ground in
          search of a mate. Both sexes tend to be gregarious (Eeles,
          2019: 284).
 21603-BRACHA-PARPAR - 21603-BRACHA-PARPAR | 14 - A | 22-01-02 | 12:34:18 | SR:-- | Magenta
 21603-BRACHA-PARPAR - 21603-BRACHA-PARPAR | 14 - A | 22-01-02 | 12:34:18 | SR:-- | Yellow
 #21603-BRACHA-PARPAR - 21603-BRACHA-PARPAR | 14 - A | 22-01-02 | 12:34:18 | SR:-- | Black
 21603-BRACHA-PARPAR - 21603-BRACHA-PARPAR | 14 - A | 22-01-02 | 12:34:18 | SR:-- | Cyan
                        DGXOW                                                    DGXOW
                                                                                    6
                                                                                       7
                       HJJ  1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9   10  11  12  %LRORJ\                        HJJ  1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9   10  11  12
               lar v a                                                  lar v a
          pupa                                                     pupa
 © Dubi Benyamini
 © Dubi   Benyamini  © Dubi   Benyamini  © Dubi Benyamini   © Dubi Benyamini   © Dubi Benyamini   )OLJKW  SHULRG  June to July, at 1200-1800 m along the
          Amanos Mt in Hatay (Atahan et al., 2018: 70). DB observed
 4        a single specimen flying in an open forest in C Amanos,
 © Dubi   Benyamini  'D]GDøL       P  RQ    -XQH
          /LIH  KLVWRU\   HOVHZKHUH   univoltine, perhaps in a partial
          summer second brood or prolonged emergence [Tolman
          & Lewington, (1997: 175); Higgins & Riley, (1970: 120 as
          Mellicta athalia)]. Females mate once only, shortly after
          emergence. Eggs are cream-coloured, of a rounded cone
          shape with numerous vertical keels and laid on the underside
          of a leaf on (or near) the hostplant, in large batches of up
          to ca. 150 eggs. L1 are ochreous-white with a black heads
          and emerge en masse after 10-20 days. After eating the
          eggshell, larvae live gregariously beneath a silken web,
          feeding initially on the leaf cuticle before forming smaller   Greece, Mt. Kivasos,    Hatay, C Amanus Mt.
 © Dubi   Benyamini  © Dubi   Benyamini  ‹ 2ÀU 7RPHU  groups on nearby hostplants. In late summer, the immature   1450-1600 m 11.6.2016
          L3 larvae form a hibernaculum within a curled dead leaf,
 3  3  4  secured by silk. After overwintering, feeding resumes in
          spring, with much time spent basking in sunshine. The                                    © Dubi Benyamini
 Jordan, Dana Reserve 18 June 1999, L5 on Anarrhinum foskahlii  © Dubi   Benyamini  margins, attached by the cremaster to a pad of silk, usually
          mature larva is largely black, covered with tiny white spots
 © Dubi Benyamini
          and conical orange spines with black setae. The pendulous
          pupa is white with black spots and bands with yellow
          on the lower leaves and stems of the LHP or within leaf
          litter, hatching after 2-3 weeks (Tolman & Lewington, 1997:
          174-176; Warecki, 2010: 116; Thomas & Lewington, 2014:
          230-234; Lafranchis et al., 2015: 476-477).
          &RQVHUYDWLRQ  rated LC (Least Concern) in the Turkish
          & Mediterranean red lists of butterflies (Keraçetin &
          Welch, 2011 and Numa  et al. 2016 respectively), rare in
          Hatay (Atahan et al., 2016: 70), but is “categorised as EN
          (Endangered) in the UK” where its existence was supported   © Adam Warecki  © Adam Warecki  © Adam Warecki
          also by reintroduction (Eeles, 2019: 283 & Fox et al., 2011).
 © Dubi   Benyamini  © Dubi   Benyamini  ‹ 2ÀU 7RPHU  ‹ 2ÀU 7RPHU
          5HFRUGHG KRVWSODQWV in Europe & Hatay: Scrophulariaceae
          –  Linaria vulgaris,  Melampyrum pratense,  M.  sylvaticum,      © Adam Warecki         © Dubi Benyamini
          Veronica chamaedrys,  V.  montana,  V.  officinalis;
          Plantaginaceae –  Digitalis purpurea,  D.  ferruginea,  D.
          lutea, Plantago lanceolata, P. alpina; Lamiaceae (Labiatae)
          – Teucrium scorodonia.


          'LVWULEXWLRQ

          TL: Paris. A widespread species, common throughout much
          of its range across most of Europe, Russia, temperate Asia
          and Japan, reaching its southern distributional limit in the
          Levant only in Hatay, Turkey, where the nominotypical ssp.
 ‹ 2ÀU 7RPHU  © Jason Wides  is rare (Atahan et al., 2018: 70).                © Ali Atahan        © Adam Warecki

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 2Butterflies of the Levant danaidae satyridae.indd   216  12/30/2021   4:30:40 PM  2Butterflies of the Levant danaidae satyridae.indd   217  12/30/2021   4:30:44 PM
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