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                  Lasiommata maera (Linnaeus, 1758)             Large Wall Brown                                                                                                                                                                          21603-BRACHA-PARPAR - 21603-BRACHA-PARPAR | 3 - B | 22-01-02 | 12:34:17 | SR:-- | Cyan
                                                                                                                                     0LJUDWLRQ  With its slow, sailing and persistent flight,  D.   13
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                                                                                                                                     chrysippus can travel great distances, its migrations bearing
                                                                                                                                     some resemblance to those of its more familiar American
                  One of the most common satyrids in the Levant, inhabiting                                                          relative, the Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus), similarly
                  Mediterranean areas, especially rural settlements, where                                                           arriving in the spring from the south and migrating NW,
                  hostplants grow year-round. Flight is weak, jerky and close                                                        with offspring of the spring migrants returning south to
                  to the ground. Males hilltop or fly among cliffs/vertical                                                          overwintering areas in autumn. The main difference between
                  rock faces, where they search for females (Tomer, 2005;                                                            the two species is that in  D.  chrysippus, the number of
                  Tolman 1997: 253; John & Skule, 2015: 324). Individuals                                                            specimens involved is very much smaller and they are
                  frequently rest with wings half open after alighting on                                                            generally solitary fliers, only rarely forming groups. Migration
                  rocks or on the ground. Mated females reject male                                                                  flight is about a metre above ground in a constant direction
                  advances by repeatedly turning to face head to head,                                                               and speed; measured from a moving car, flight velocity of a                              © Dubi Benyamini
                  denying the male (wings vibrating to release scent scales)                                                         migrant was found to be 20 k/h, much slower than 35 k/h
                  a mating opportunity. In cop., the male is carried by the                          DGXOW                           measured for Vanessa cardui.                          14
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                  female (Benyamini, 2001a, 2016d and breeding notes).                         HJJ  1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9   10  11  12
                                                                                  lar v a
                                                                             pupa
                  Territoriality was reported by Benyamini (2000e, 2004b,                                                            3UHGDWRUV  DQG  3DUVLWRLGV  several green praying mantids
                  2009c: 200), On 20 February 2021 in Beit Arye, at noon                                                             (Sphodromantis viridis,  Mantodea) were observed in lower
                  time, maera male intercepted Vanessa cardui and chased                                                             Jordan Valley’s plains of Jericho -270 m bsl, 20 km N of the
                  it out of its territory (Leah & Eran Benyamini, pers. comms.                                                       city on Calotropis procera with chrysippus larvae; suggesting
                  to DB); flying along ravines (mate location) was reported                                                          they may pray on these larvae (DB pers. obs.). Between
                  by Tomer (2008) and puddling by Tomer (2001b).
                                                                                                                                     9/2014 and 7/2015 50% of 8 collected pupae at the same
                                                                                                                                     biotope were infested by the parasitoid Brachymeria albicrus
                  %LRORJ\                                                                                                            (Klug, 1834) (Chalcididae - det. Dick Askew), while about 40
                                                                                                                                     collected larvae were clean of any parasitoid. A green fresh
                  )OLJKW  SHULRG  : January to early December, sl to 1200                                                            pupa that was collected on 10 June 2015 did not hatch and
                  m depending on location in Israel, early May to early                                                              instead darkened and after three weeks hatched the wasp.
                  September, 1000-2400 m on Mt Hermon; 1545-2400                                                                     It proved that this parasitoid lay its eggs only inside fresh
                  m at Al-Lazzab reserve Syrian Anti-Lebanon (Zarikian &                                                             pupae. On two occasions in Newe-Monoson and Beit Arye
                                                                                                                                                        Ļ
                  Ghrejyan, 2018); January-November, sl-1960 m in Cyprus                                                             Israel DB bred chrysippus larvae outdoors in netted cages.
                  (Makris, 2003: 262); March-October, sl-2000 m in Hatay                                                             It did not prevent  Pteromalus puparum (Pretomalidae) tiny
                  (Atahan et al., 2018: 99); “found in a succession of broods                                                        larva-pupa parasitoids to enter the breeding cages and infest
                  almost all year round…a fresh brood in late October”, sl-     L. m. orientalis Heyne , 1894                        the larvae. Ilan Ben-Yosef (Ma’agan Michael, Israel) found on                             © Nitzan Cohen
                  1500 m in Lebanon (Larsen, 1974: 142); April-July, 100-                                                            14 Jan. 2016 in his Binyamina-Burg butterfly farm that he
                  1000 m in Jordan (Larsen & Nakamura, 1983; Katbeh-                                                                 lost larvae to un-identified Tachinid fly (“same as in Vanessa   15
                  Bader et al., 2003).
                                                                                                                                     cardui”). The Assassin bug Rhynocoris punctiventris is fond
                                                                                                                                     of sucking pupae while eggs are the diet of ants and snails.
                  /LIH KLVWRU\  Generally trivoltine, but uni- or bivoltine in the                                                   Released fresh adults are often attacked in the air by pairs
                  high mountains. Eggs are laid singly (sometimes in pairs)                                   © Ofir Tomer           of the White-spectacled Bulbul (Pycnonotus xanthopygos)
                  on the hostplant’s leaves and are 1.2 mm in height, 0.8-                                                           and the Yellow Jacket (Vespula germanica) may also pray on
                  0.9 mm wide and greenish-white when laid. L1 emerges   3UHGDWRUV  parasitized eggs develop external black          chrysippus’ larvae despite their toxicity (Ronen Pryov. pers.
                  after 5-6 days and eats the eggshell. Measuring 3 mm in   markings prior to the emergence of tiny  Trichogramma    comms. to DB). Within breeding cages jumping spiders may
                  length, L1 is greenish-white and hairy; the head is light   wasps (Benyamini, 1990: 53). A larval parasitoid, Agrypon   take heavy toll of sleeping helpless Queens (DB, breeding
                  brown with dark spots. The mature larva is 25-28 mm   delarvatum (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae), was reported        notes).
                  long, green with pale yellowish stripes along the body. The   from Greece (Lafranchis, 2019).
                  suspended pupa is 12-15 mm long and green, changing                                                                5HFRUGHG KRVWSODQWV  Many wild and cultivated Apocynaceae
                  colour to brown-green before emerging after 10-12 days   'LVWULEXWLRQ                                              (formerly Asclepiadaceae) including:  Araujia sericifera [C,
                  in June-October and 20 days in November. A complete                                                                L], Asclepias curassavica [C],  Caralluma  spp.,  Calotropis
                  metamorphosis occupies ca. 70 days in winter (Eisenstein   TL: Sweden. The species’ distribution ranges from N Africa   procera  [M],  C.  gigantea [C],  Ceropegia woodii [C, L],       Ļ
                  2000: 216). Aestivation in the summer (between the   to Europe, C Asia and the Himalayas, Turkey, Cyprus , Syria,   Cynanchum acutum [M], Hoya carnosa [C, L], Gomphocarpus
                  second and third broods) and overwintering is in the larval   Lebanon, Israel (S to Arad, N Negev), Jordan (‘scarce’ –  S to   fruticosus [C],  G.  physocarpus  [C],  G.  sinaicus,  Leptadenia
                  stage, with growth slowing or stopping in midsummer high   Dana Reserve and Petra?, Edom) the species’ southernmost   pyrotechnica, Pentatropis nivalis [?], Pergularia tomentosa,
                  temperatures or in winter in colder areas. An aestivating   limit (Benyamini, 2002a). Descends to the Judean Desert   Periploca aphylla [?], Solenostemma arghel [?], Stephanotis
                  late summer larva (illustr.) that resumed feeding in   at Ein Fara, Wadi Kelt, NE Jerusalem at 315 m and may       floribunda [C, L],  Trachomitum venetum,  Rosa sp. [C, L]
                  October, pupated in November 2015 and overwintered   descend below sl around the Sea of Galilee. Absent from       (Rosaceae) and Antirrhinum majus [L] (Scrophulariaceae).            Ļ                     © Samir Hamza
                  to next spring; it was BD’s only experience of  maera’s   Sinai. Olivier (1993: 188) concluded that this ‘remarkably                                                     15
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                  pupal overwintering (DB, breeding notes; Lafranchis et al.,   variable’ species ‘has no distinct subspecies in Europe or
                  2011: 570).                                        Turkey’.                                                        'LVWULEXWLRQ
                                                                     A very rare aberration (female) with additional large ocelli
                  5HFRUGHG  KRVWSODQWV  Poaceae (Gramineae) –Andropogon   on the fw was photographed by Yaron Mish'an in nahal       TL: ‘Canton’ (Guangdong), China. The species’ distribution
                  distachyos,  Cynodon dactylon,  Dactyloctenium australe   HaShofet (HaShofet stream) reserve, Ramot Menashe,       ranges through the tropical and subtropical areas of the
                  [C],  Festuca spp,  Hordeum  glaucum,  Pennisetum   Israel, on 20 Aug. 2021 - illustr. A similar female with two   Old World: all of Africa S of the Atlas Mts., Egypt, Arabian
                  cladestinum,  Piptatherum miliaceum [C],  Poa spp.,   ocellus on each fw was collected by Wolfgang ten-Hagen       Peninsula, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Cyprus, Turkey,
                  Saccharum  officinarum [C],  Schedonorus arundinaceus,   (Mömlingen, Germany) in Armenia, and is in his collection   Iran, Iraq, Spain, Portugal and north up to S France, Italy and
                  Setaria adhaerens. Cyperaceae – Cyperus alternifolius and   (ten-Hagen pers. comm. to DB). John Coutsis (Athens,   Greece.
                  C.  rotundus (Tomer, 1999b, 2001c, 2006b; Benyamini,   Greece) noticed that a second detached fw ocelli is quite
                  1999b, 2003c).                                     frequent in L. petropolitana (pers. comm. to DB).                                                                                                          © Samir Hamza
              46                                                                                                                                                                                                                          35
           2Butterflies of the Levant danaidae satyridae.indd   46                                             12/30/2021   4:21:59 PM  2Butterflies of the Levant danaidae satyridae.indd   35                                    12/30/2021   4:21:20 PM
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