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Lasiommata megera (Linnaeus, 1767) Wall Brown 21603-BRACHA-PARPAR - 21603-BRACHA-PARPAR | 3 - A | 22-01-02 | 10:39:02 | SR:-- | Cyan
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A hilltopping and territorial species, males may defend 3 )OLJKW SHULRG DQG PLJUDWLRQ WUDFNV northwards migrating
their territories day after day; several may congregate specimens are seen from spring months of late February
at hilltops. Generally uncommon and local, and scarcer in the southern Negev to April-May in N Israel. After flying
than L. maera, with which it is one of the earliest satyrids north in the Jordan Valley they proceed through Izrael Valley
to emerge in spring. Males perch or patrol along tracks to Haifa and around Mt Carmel “cape” fly southwards along
awaiting females, fly-glide with wings open in V shape, or the E Mediterranean coast. Their southwards return flights © Dubi Benyamini © Dubi Benyamini
bask in wait with wings fully open. Males have a strong are observed from September to November. However, in
10
diagonal sex brand on their upf, and begin courting head our warming up climate, permanent colonies may become 100
to head, flapping their wings and dispersing androconial established in favourable, frost-free areas such as the Jordan
scales and pheromones towards the female antennae. River – Arava Rift Valley where they fly year round with reduced
Adults sometimes spend nights under overhanging activity in the winter.
rocks. This is a cold resistant species; adults may survive
in -3°C, larvae in -8°C and pupae in ice (Lafranchis et DGXOW /LIH KLVWRU\ polyvoltine. Freshly born “virgin” males have to
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al., 2015: 568-569; Thomas & Lewington 2014: 242). HJJ 1 1 1 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 collect pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA) that are found on withered © Stav Talal
lar v a
pupa
parts of plants in the families Boraginaceae, Asteraceae,
Fabaceae and Apocynaceae spp.. “These phytochemicals are 11
%LRORJ\ partially metabolized by the males…and are converted into
dihydropyrrolizines which are used as pheromones during
)OLJKW SHULRG February (or earlier) to November, courtship behaviour”. It was also suggested that the pure PA
depending on altitude & weather. The author has stored in the adult’s body serve them as additional protection
recorded megera from the Anti-Lebanon peak at 2814 against predators (Edgar et al., 1979; Smith, A., 2014) PA is
m in June 1974, at Hulata (70 m, N Sea of Galilee) in also transmitted by both males and females to the eggs. Males © Stav Talal
the lowest point at the upper Jordan valley also in June, transfer it to the females by seminal infusion, and females
and at Gitit (300 m) W Bank, Samarian Desert in April; In that collect PA themselves coat the eggs with PA protecting
Hatay (common), sl to 2000 m, March-October (Atahan it against predators (e.g. ants) and egg parasites (e.g. the
et al., 2018: 101); Cyprus, sl (early February to early chalcidoid wasp, Trichogramma spp.), (Bezzerides et al.,
1RYHPEHU D IUHVK ʇ (- SHUV REV WR 7URRGRV VXPPLW 2004). On 29 Nov. 2021 DB observed several females sipping
at 1950 m (Makris, 2003: 260); Al-Lazzab reserve Syrian fluids from Pulicaria dysenterica (Asteraceae); this interesting
Anti-Lebanon 1828-2602 m (Zarikian & Ghrejyan, 2018). plant contains over 40 different bioactive components (not
PAs) including glucosides, flavonoids, phenolic acid, etc.
/LIH KLVWRU\ polyvoltine. Eggs are laid singly, sometimes (Cádiz-Gurrea et al., 2019; Benyamini, 2022a) that function © Dubi Benyamini
in pairs, on grasses growing in shady places, or ”in in addition to the PAs for similar purposes - see egg defence
clusters on roots or leaves of grasses” (Thomas & in Vol I. Eggs are laid singly, usually on the underside of the
Lewington, 2014: 241). The eggs are 1 mm in height, hostplant’s leaves. On 16 May 2015 a female laid an egg
spherical and greenish-white, changing to yellowish among yellow aphids on Asclepias curassavica – is it a defence
towards eclosion. L1 hatches after one week and eats strategy for eggs? (DB breeding notes). The eggs are 1.25 mm
the eggshell, is 2.5 mm long, yellow, hairy and with a in height, pale-green and upper-narrowed barrel-shaped. The
brown head, spotted black; body colour changes to green eggshell is consumed by the newly hatched larva, which is 3
when feeding commences. L5 is 25 mm long, green with mm in length, grey with a black head. Larvae feed non-stop
light green dorsal and subdorsal longitudinal lines and a between moults and in maturity are 45 mm long, banded with
white lateral band, feeding in late afternoon and at night. Jordan, Wadi Dana, 600 m. 23.5.1998 black and white and with yellow spots along its body. Behind © Dubi Benyamini © Dubi Benyamini © Dubi Benyamini
The suspended pupa is 15 mm long, green (sometimes L. m. emilyssa Verity, 1919 the head, on the body and near the tail, are three pairs of
brown) with 6-7 pairs of small white projections along the characteristic fleshy filaments, black with red at the base. The /DUYDO FDQQLEDOLVP every African Queen’s breeder
back, hatches after 10-12 days in the summer but one spiracles are marked with black. The usual larval coloration meets this phenomenon that when LHPs are in short
month in winter in temperatures of 9-12°C. Overwinters is typically aposematic, bearing warning patterns alerting of supply the large larvae start feeding on the young
as a larva, in warm areas it continues to grow slowly toxicity, but occasionally this is replaced by other forms: the ones. But it seems that they like consuming fresh
throughout the winter (Lafranchis et al., 2015: 568-569). spots are reduced and appear on a grey body ground colour pupae even more and not necessarily when they are
(illustr. 10). A second form is extremely rare: the larva is green hungry; wondering larvae before pupation may eat
5HFRUGHG KRVWSODQWV Poaceae (Gramineae) – Cynodon with no black and white stripe, and with a white stripe and yellow fresh pupae, post-moulting larvae are sometimes
dactylon, Dactylis glomerata, Pennisetum cladestinum, spots along the sides -illustr. 11. Makris (2003) illustrated a consumed (BD breeding notes).
Piptatherum miliaceum, Poa spp., [C], Schedonorus third form, where the ground colour of the entire dorsal surface
arundinaceus [?]. Cyperaceae – Cyperus rotundus [?]. of the larval body is a purple-grey-brown. On 15 August 2019 :LQWHU GLDSDXVH a direct impact of climate warming
in Beit Arye (C Israel) at noon time with external temperature up is overwintering of the African Queen in Israel.
of 37°C two pre-pupal pendulous “J” shaped thermoregulated While chrysippus could do it until recently only in the
'LVWULEXWLRQ their bodies’ temperature by turning the lower “leg” towards warm Jordan River -- Arava Rift Valley enclaves, and
the sun, changing to “L”- shape to reduce their silhouette and the Israeli population was depending also on spring
TL: Austria and Denmark. Widely distributed from N heat absorption (DB, 2018e). The suspended pupa is 22 mm migrants from the south, we face now a different
Africa to most of Europe (up to latitude 60° (Higgins & long, green, white or pink with golden spots matching pupation situation: When females lay their last eggs in the fall
Riley, 1973: 227)), Russia, Iran, Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, base – i.e. green on plants. In paired flight, the female is at the Mediterranean coastal plains the following
Lebanon, Israel (south to Susya at Hebron Mt), and © Dubi Benyamini carried by the male. But in East Africa DB photographed in cop. low winter temperatures are below the survivability
Jordan (south to Petra). Absent from Sinai. Three ssp. emilyssa (Verity, 1919), TL: Bosporus (Turkey) – Levant; pairs where females carried the males and have no explanation threshold and they perish with their eggs, small larvae
have been reported from the Levant: L. m. transcaspica and ssp. iranica Riley, 1921, TL: “Kizil-Robat, Mesopotamia; why it is different in the northern and southern hemispheres and even pupae while the final instars larvae can
(Staudinger, 1901) TL: “Tura; Hyrc[ania]” (Iran); L. m. Karind Gorge and Harir, N.W. Persia” (Iran). – i.e. African dominant females versus Levantine/European withstand and survive low temperatures.
dominant males.
48 33
2Butterflies of the Levant danaidae satyridae.indd 48 12/30/2021 4:22:06 PM 2Butterflies of the Levant danaidae satyridae.indd 33 12/30/2021 4:21:17 PM