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