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Junonia hierta (Fabricius, 1798) Yellow Pansy Polygonia c-album (Linnaeus, 1758) Comma 66

A rare Palaeotropical migrant that arrives to the Levant Wadi Tlach 1400 m, a male was collected. Gilbert & Zalat Resembles the dark f. J. album and second brood of P. egea, but differs
more often and in greater numbers since the turn of the (2007) recorded it from S Sinai (Wadi el-Achmar) in 2001. from it by having more extensive upperside markings and a characteristic
century. They belong to the dry-season form from Africa, On 29 October 2010 “more than 20 specimens” (possibly white ‘comma’ (rather than ‘V’) on the hindwing underside (see also life
those of the wet-season-form are larger and with more offspring of spring migration) were observed in the garden history below). The species experiences large population fluctuations
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intense wing colours. The tendency of its northwards of the Oriental Resort Nabq, SE Sinai coast – located at the edges of its distribution range. In the south, it reaches as far
expansion started at least 120 years ago: near the Tiran straights, the best and shortest crossings as Mt. Hermon, but sightings from Lebanon (last recorded by Ellison
from NW Arabia to the Sinai Peninsula (Rudi Verovnik, & Wiltshire in 1927-34), Syria and Israel are extremely rare and the
6XGDQ In 1896 it was collected by Alfred Cholmley at N pers. comm.). Nabq is located within the Red Sea – Rift last report from Mt. Hermon dates back to 1942, suggesting that the
Suakim, S Port Sudan, W Red Sea coast, Sudan (Sharpe, Valley migration corridor northwards to Eilat/Aqaba and species is locally extinct. Today, it possibly reaches south as far as
21603-BRACHA-PARPAR - 21603-BRACHA-PARPAR | 11 - B | 22-01-02 | 10:39:03 | SR:-- | Magenta
21603-BRACHA-PARPAR - 21603-BRACHA-PARPAR | 11 - B | 22-01-02 | 10:39:03 | SR:-- | Yellow
#21603-BRACHA-PARPAR - 21603-BRACHA-PARPAR | 11 - B | 22-01-02 | 10:39:03 | SR:-- | Black
21603-BRACHA-PARPAR - 21603-BRACHA-PARPAR | 11 - B | 22-01-02 | 10:39:03 | SR:-- | Cyan
1897), Longstaff (1912) recorded its occurrence along the Arava; Pittaway (1985) reported hierta as “migrant Al-Lazzab reserve Syrian Anti-Lebanon (60 km N Damascus) where DGXOW
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the Sudanese White Nile from Kosti (Lat. 13°10’N, 245 north to Haql” in the NW Arabian coast, opposite E Sinai’s only two specimens were observed at the top of the ridge between lar v a
pupa
km S Khartoum) to Kanisa (“Lat. [6°50’N, Sic.]” Kanisah recorded site. P DW 7DOD·DW 0ŞVi LQ DQG =DULNLDQ *KUHM\DQ
18°15’N is 320 km N Khartoum) but this was still 400 km 2018; Zarikian, 2016). However, a gradual northwards shift in range
short of the Egyptian border. ,VUDHO In its continuous expansion northwards to Jordan/ experienced over much of Europe possibly due to the greenhouse
Israel’s rift valley and the E Mediterranean coast the effect and since the mid 1970’s also in the UK (Thomas & Lewington,
(J\SW Rothschild (1901) and Andres & Seitz (1923/24) first recorded appearance of hierta in Israel was delayed 2014: 196). It does not have a breeding population in Mt Hermon and
did not record it from Egypt. Wiltshire (1948) published until 7 August 1993 in Mt Carmel Neanderthal’s caves in rated Not Applicable (NA) in the Israeli Red list of Butterflies (Renan et
three Upper Egypt records: on March-April 1928 in Gebel Atlit where several adults were observed by an English al., 2022 (In prep.)).
Elba at the Halaib Triangle (Leg. A. Alfieri), on 27 April physician of Netanya, Israel. On 2 June 1994 a female was
1938 a specimen was collected at Nag Hamadi by Prof. collected inside a green house in Tirat Zvi, S Beit-She’an,
H. Priesner (specimen in coll. Ministry of Agriculture, Jordan Valley (Shahak, 1995) – illustr 2. On 2 May 2001 %LRORJ\ Mt Hermon, 8 April 1942, Leg Tuvia Kushnir
Cairo) and “At Salsileh, near Kom Ombo A. Honoré a male was observed by David Shahak nectaring on
observed an important migration between 14 and 28 Phyla nodiflora at his home’s garden, again in Tirat Zvi, )OLJKW SHULRG March/April (post diapausing adults) to August or later.
August 1938” (also Honoré, 1939) and concluded that “It S Beit-She’an, Jordan Valley (Benyamini, 2001h). From June-July 1100-2100 m in Hatay (Atahan et al., 2018: 53).
appears therefore that this widespread tropical butterfly spring 2010 and on the Yellow Pansy was recorded in
is confined to Upper Egypt”. Ludwig Roell observed three Israel almost every year giving rise to establishment of /LIH KLVWRU\ HOVHZKHUH bivoltine. Eggs are laid singly or in small
males and two females near the temple of Edfu, ~ 100 local populations (Mish’an, 2018); On 17 June 2010 a groups, 10-33 a day, on the upperside of the leaves of the hostplant.
km S Luxor also at Upper Egypt (Roell, 1959). First to specimen was observed in Midreshet Ben Gurion (Sde The eggs are 0.7 mm in height, green with 10-12 vertical ribs, they
record it in Lower Egypt was Larsen who “found several Boker) C Negev (Feingold, 2010d). On 28 December emerge after 1-3 weeks. L1 is 2 mm long, hairy, green and with a black
specimens near Memphis in December, 1974” and added 2012 a female was observed and photographed in Kfar head. Living in a leaf-pocket sealed with silk it grows to 34 mm long
that “it doubtless occurs in Lower Egypt from time to time” Rupin, Jordan Valley by Inbar Ktalav and Ran Lotan in her L5. The mature larva is brownish-black spotted with yellow-orange,
(Larsen, 1990: 54). However, erroneously he linked it to garden, illustr. 5, a clear local offspring of earlier spring and with a broad amorphous glossy white band over the rear half of
an earlier record of DB from the Sinai Massif in the same migrants (pers. comm.), on 12 December 2013 a male the dorsal surface including the spines; the overall effect strongly
1974 year; but while the origin of Memphis record clearly was photographed in the Weitzman Institute Rehovot resembling a bird dropping. The pupa hangs from the cremaster and is
points Upper Egypt and the White Nile in Sudan as its (Rotem & Milo, 2014). On 26 August 2014 a specimen was 21 mm long, pink-brown spotted with black and metallic silver or gold
origin, the Sinai records from the high mountains and the observed in Kibbutz Yakum, C Israel Mediterranean coast and emerges after 10-20 days. The adult hibernates over winter and © Dubi Benyamini
eastern Gulf of Aqaba coast link it to W Arabia and Asir ~ 15 Km N Tel Aviv possibly representing 1st /2nd local is active on warm sunny days. In Europe, post-hibernation butterflies
with their permanent populations (Larsen, 1983: 428; brood of earlier spring migration (Oren Aharoni, 2016) and are a mix of the previous year’s first and second broods. Males are
Pittaway 1985). He also overlooked specimens in Egyptian in October 2014 Victoria Ladjzhinskaya photographed a territorial from their perch; one-two metres over its territory, mating
collections: Ain Shams and Cairo Universities and coll. of single male in the Yarkon River Park Ramat-Gan/Tel Aviv “takes place on a shrub or tree” (DB breeding notes in Rila Forest,
Ministry of Agriculture include specimens from Cairo, Giza possibly another offspring of the same spring migrants. 1200 m, SW Bulgaria, spring 2013; Lafranchis et al., 2015: 452-453;
& Nile Delta collected in 1952, 1953, 1955, 1957 and On 1 March 2016 a male was observed in Uvda Valley S Thomas & Lewington, 2014: 196).
Faiyum in 1965 (Francis Gilbert pers. comm.). Lower Egypt Negev by Izzy Shaked during a cross-country bicycle trip © Adam Warecki © Dubi Benyamini
seems to be a dead–end of hierta’s northern expansion (Shaked & Benyamini, 2017), In 2018 the Yellow Pansy /DUYDO GHIHQFH disturbed larvae fall to the ground or leaf surface,
along the Nile because it was not recorded there since established a breeding population at the Yarkon River Park twist their body to Z or L shapes and do not move, pretending to be
1974 and there are still no records of hierta from N (Ramat-Gan / Tel Aviv) on Phyla nodiflora between early dead = larval thanatosis (torpor) - see vol I (DB pers. obs.).
Sinai and SE Mediterranean coasts* unlike H. misippus August to the end of October. It was also recorded in Neot
that seems to be a stronger long-range (rare) migrant to Smadar, S Negev where a male was photographed on 25 5HFRUGHG KRVWSODQWV Mainly Urticaceae - Urtica dioica and other
Levant’s E Mediterranean coast. September 2018 by Y. Mish’an, M. Laudon & S. Weisman, Urtica species, and also: Grossulariaceae - Ribes rubrum, R. alpinum,
* in 2018 hierta appeared at the Yarkon River Park (E Tel Aviv), Kibbutz on 29 September J. orithya male drove out an hierta male R. nigrum, R. spicatum, R. uva-crispa; Betulaceae - Betula spp., Corylus
Yakum and Haifa; DB links these migrants to Red Sea - Arabian origin) (Alex Oz’s photograph) and on 2 October hierta male avellana; Salicaceae - Salix phylicifolia, S. aurita, S. caprea, S. cinerea;
tried to join orithya courting (Galit Moshe’s photograph), Ulmaceae - Ulmus glabra, U. laevis; Cannabaceae - Humulus lupulus; © Dubi Benyamini © Dubi Benyamini
6LQDL The Hebrew University in Jerusalem Expedition to Herzelia (a female on 22 October 2018 by O. Oster and T. Rosaceae - Rubus idaeus (Lafranchis, 2019).
the Sinai Peninsula in July 1927 (looking for the Biblical Barkan) and a male in Haifa Zoo on 28 October 2018 by
Manna) did not record hierta (Bodenheimer & Theodor, E. Svirsky) (Mish’an, 2018). However 2018/19 winter was
1929; Bodenheimer, 1935). Benyamini collected two too cold and J. hierta did not survive in C Israel (Mish’an, 'LVWULEXWLRQ
males and observed one female in Wadi Tlach (W. Itlah) 2019b). Six months elapsed before hierta appeared
1400 m on 25.5.1974 being the first record to the again in the Levant’s southern Rift Valley Arava in Kibbutz TL: Sweden. The species’ distribution ranges from the Atlas Mts. in
Sinai Peninsula (Benyamini, 1984) (illustr. 1), adults Yotvata, ~ 40 km N Eilat where it was observed in June NW Africa to Europe up to latitude 66°, Siberia, Caucasia, common in
were observed in wadis around Santa Katherina mud- 2019 (Facebook) and from August 2019 until 5 March the Amanos Mt Hatay, Turkey, Syria (Zarikian, 2016), Lebanon? , Israel
puddling at its gravely bottoms, perching and nectaring 2020, its last record for 2020 (Segev, 2019; Segev, 2020; (Hermon?), (absent from Cyprus, Jordan and Sinai), Iraq and temperate
on Majorana syriaca, their activity proceeded until 26 Shalmon, 2020; Benyamini, 2020e & Benyamini, 2020f). Asia to Japan. The nominotypical ssp. flies in the Levant.
September 1974 up to 1850 m. In June 1976, again in While the author recorded Phyla nodiflora and Sesuvium © Eran Benyamini

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