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 TL: Beirut, Lebanon. Distributed in the E Mediterranean from
 7XUNLVK 6 0DODW\D DQG & $GL\DPDQ DFURVV .DKUDPDQPDUDû
 Gaziantep and Hatay Provinces to NW Syria, Lebanon,
 N Jordan and Israel (absent from Cyprus and Sinai). The
 #
 species reaches it southern limit of distribution on the S
 Hebron Mt slopes / N Negev, Israel. Three subspecies have
 been listed in the Levant: M. t. titea (Klug, 1832); TL: Beirut,
 Lebanon – Lebanon & Syria; M. t. titania Calberla, 1891;   © Dubi Benyamini  © Dubi Benyamini
 TL:  Hauran (S Syria) & Jerusalem-Jericho road – S Turkey
 21603-BRACHA-PARPAR - 21603-BRACHA-PARPAR | 5 - A | 22-01-02 | 12:34:17 | SR:-- | Magenta
 (Hatay), Syria, S Lebanon, Israel, Jordan;  M.  t.  standfussi
 21603-BRACHA-PARPAR - 21603-BRACHA-PARPAR | 5 - A | 22-01-02 | 12:34:17 | SR:-- | Yellow
 #21603-BRACHA-PARPAR - 21603-BRACHA-PARPAR | 5 - A | 22-01-02 | 12:34:17 | SR:-- | Black
 21603-BRACHA-PARPAR - 21603-BRACHA-PARPAR | 5 - A | 22-01-02 | 12:34:17 | SR:-- | Cyan
 Wagner, 1983; TL: “Urfa, Aintab” (Gaziantep) – S Turkey,
 Hatay, Amanos Mts. and “Aleppo” (Halep/Halab), NW Syria.
 1RPHQFODWXUH V\VWHPDWLF QRWH
 © Dubi Benyamini
 The distribution of the Balkan Marbled White and super
 species; M. larissa (see Nazari et al., 2009), is given as S
 Europe, Asia Minor to W Asia and the Levant, from the N
 Adriatic stretching along ~3000 km to NW Iran (Bozano,
 2002: 14; Nazari, 2003: 309), S in the Levant to the   ©Dubi Benyamini
 Samarian Desert and N Negev in SE & S Israel (Benyamini
 1990: 136). With such a wide range and disparate
 biological/morphological characters in eggs, larvae and
 pupae found across the range (Hesselbarth et al., 1995(2):   © Dubi Benyamini  © Yitzhak Eisentein
 861-864; Wagener, 1983, 1984; DB, breeding notes), it is
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 questionable if this sedentary species can be represented by   P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P P Pipptatherumm milliaaceeumm
 a single taxon. Furthermore, although not separated by any
 geographic barrier, the very different species  Melanargia   © Dubi Benyamini                       ‹ 2ÀU 7RPHU
 syriaca and even M. wiskotti are present between ‘larissa’
 populations, establishing a possible biological obstacle.
 Here, we express a view that  M.  titea, once a southern
 clade of the larissa complex (Nazari et al., 2009), presents
 enough evidence of changes from its ancestral origin to
 justify its specific status.
 © Leah Benyamini
                         M. titea titea                M. titea titania             M. titea standfussi
                                       M. s. syriaca                        M. wiskotti
 © Eyal Bartov                                Melanargia males of the Levant
 72                                                                                                           73
 2Butterflies of the Levant danaidae satyridae.indd   72  12/30/2021   4:23:22 PM  2Butterflies of the Levant danaidae satyridae.indd   73  12/30/2021   4:23:24 PM
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