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Melitaea phoebe (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775) Knapweed Fritillary 12

The Melitaea phoebe species complex has been the /LIH KLVWRU\ bivoltine to trivoltine. Eggs are laid in
subject of recent studies and its systematic position clusters of dozens on the underside of the hostplant’s
clarified (van Oorschot & Coutsis, 2014; Russell & lower leaves. The egg is cream, becoming yellow, oval-
Tennent, 2016; Russell, 2018). The most widespread shaped with 15 longitudinal ribs, hatching after 6-20
#
‘Knapweed-type’ fritillary in the Levant is Melitaea days. The young larvae are gregarious and live in a silken
"telona" Fruhstorfer, 1908 TL. Jerusalem, Israel (see web. As with adults, larval coloration is variable but all © Adam Warecki
species’ complex entry). M. phoebe is restricted to the instars have a glossy black head. At L3, final brood
north-western Levant strip. Flies in open grassy areas, larvae overwinter in small groups among dry leaves of
moist biotopes, open forests and forest meadows. This the hostplant, resuming feeding the following spring and
21603-BRACHA-PARPAR - 21603-BRACHA-PARPAR | 12 - A | 22-01-02 | 10:39:03 | SR:-- | Magenta
21603-BRACHA-PARPAR - 21603-BRACHA-PARPAR | 12 - A | 22-01-02 | 10:39:03 | SR:-- | Yellow
#21603-BRACHA-PARPAR - 21603-BRACHA-PARPAR | 12 - A | 22-01-02 | 10:39:03 | SR:-- | Black
21603-BRACHA-PARPAR - 21603-BRACHA-PARPAR | 12 - A | 22-01-02 | 10:39:03 | SR:-- | Cyan
complex super-species is widely distributed, with M. dispersing in the final instar prior to pupating near the
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phoebe and M. ornata / M. telona complex often in mixed ground. Pupae hatch after 2-4 weeks (Lafranchis et al., HJJ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
lar v a
populations. Across its distribution and influenced also 2015: 464-465; Warecki, 2010: 111 & pers. comm. to pupa
by altitude and season, populations may vary in colour DB).
from orange to reddish-orange, sometimes rusty or
white and brown, with extensive black markings. Tends 5HFRUGHG KRVWSODQWV Acanthaceae – Acanthus syriacus; 2nd gen. 2nd gen.
to be local; males are territorialists, puddlers and feed Asteraceae – Carduus, Centaurea & Onopordum spp., © Wolfgang Wagner © Wolfgang Wagner
on animal droppings. In his pre-military training at the Cynara syriaca [?] - illustr. 2, Onopordum carduiforme [?]
former RAF St Jean base N. Acre, Israel, DB recorded and Scolymus maculatus [?]; Plantaginaceae - Plantago
phoebe in the spring/summer of 1958 and 1959. First spp. in Lebanon and Hatay (Larsen, 1974: 123; Atahan © Dubi Benyamini
brood adults appeared in 6-8.4.58 and 27-30.4.59. et al., 2018: 69).
Larvae of the second brood (black-headed L5s) were
found on Acanthus syriacus ***(Acanthaceae) in mid- 1
May 1959 (Benyamini, 1990a: 126), it pupated and 'LVWULEXWLRQ Israel, 3 km N of Acre, Israel, 3 km N of Acre,
St Jean sl. 26.5.1958
St Jean sl. 25.5.1959
hatched between 25.5–1.6.1959, confirming the past
occurrence of phoebe in northern coastal Israel – illustr. TL: Vienna, Austria. M. phoebe has a patchy isolated © Wolfgang Wagner
1. RAF St Jean is now a ruined and “erased” camp with ecological distribution from W France and Spain, across
limited access; however, in mid-May 2018, and early Europe and the Middle East to Mongolia and W Siberia. possibly the real LHP of M. phoebe in this biotope
April 2021 no A. syriacus* were observed among Cynara In the Levant, it reaches its southernmost limit of
syriaca** -illustr. 2 (common & dominant), Scolymus distribution in coastal northern Israel, 3 km N of Acre,
maculatus (common), Centaurea iberica** (uncommon Lat. 32º57’51’’ N, a southern extension from NW Hatay
on the beach) and Onopordum carduiforme** (rare) all along the Levant coast; from sea level to 2000 m in the
(Asteraceae); are these additional hostplants of phoebe Lebanon and N Anti-Lebanon Mt chains.
in coastal NE Mediterranean? DB still does not know if
the newly described polyvoltine Melitaea klili Benyamini, Turky, Silitke, Aydinik, 250 m. 22.4.1984
2021 that flies only 25 km east of the western Galilee 2
coast line in the wet biotopes of Karmiel valley can reach © Wolfgang Wagner © Dubi Benyamini
the coast and overlap with M. phoebe.
*-A. syriacus appear in the distribution map of Avinoam
Danin’s website (Flora of Israel online) as present on the
Mediterranean coast N Acre, supporting DB LHP’s first
determination.
**- known as LHPs of M. phoebe / M. ornata elsewhere.
Onopordum bracteatum Boiss. & Helder was reported
as an hostplant of Melitaea ornata (telona) in N Turky, Silitke, Aydinik, 250 m. 22.4.1984
Peloponnesus by Lafranchis (2019), where “a last-instar
larva was observed eating a basal leaf” of this LHP. © Wolfgang Wagner
*** - Dr. Ori Fragman-Sapir, the curator of the Jerusalem
botanical garden opined that if DB identified A. syriacus
in the 1950’s based on the leaves rosette (rather than © Eddie John
its flowers) than he possibly mis-identified it with the
similar rosette of Scolymus maculatus.
%LRORJ\
)OLJKW SHULRG on the coast, from early April to early July
in two successive broods, at higher elevations from mid-
June to early August. A third ‘less numerous’ brood was
reported from Lebanon by Larsen (1974: 123) in August/
September; June, single record in Hatay (Atahan et al.,
2018: 69).
© Eddie John © Dubi Benyamini © Eddie John
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2Butterflies of the Levant danaidae satyridae.indd 184 12/30/2021 4:28:53 PM 2Butterflies of the Levant danaidae satyridae.indd 185 12/30/2021 4:28:57 PM