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Maniola megala Oberthür 1909 Large Meadow Brown

A rare butterfly in Hatay, its sole penetration to N Levant.
Only a few observations exist: Atahan (pers. comm.) recorded
LW DW =L\DUHW 'Dø P 6 $PDQRV EHWZHHQ 6DPDQGDø DQG
<D\ODGDøL LQ -XO\ '% UHFRUGHG LW LQ DQ RSHQ IRUHVW DERYH 5
Belen, C Amanos, 750 m on 13.7 2001 flying around and © Feza Can © Dubi Benyamini © Dubi Benyamini © Dubi Benyamini
over small trees in a more powerful flight than M. telmessia
(Benyamini, 2001e), in the same area a year later on 1.6.2002
at 846 m (Benyamini & Tomer, 2002) and in the picnic area
W Serinyol, 17 km N Antakya, 220 m, on 25.9.2013 where a
large female was flying together with M. telmessia females,
both species after summer aestivation where they undergo
delayed ovarian maturation (see Scali, 1971 for M. jurtina).
The biotope is along a rivulet within a Pine forest. The rains DGXOW
HJJ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
that started in the area four days earlier catalysed egg laying lar v a
pupa
of both species. (Hesselbarth et al., 1995(2): 823) stated this © Dubi Benyamini © Dubi Benyamini
to be a species of forest meadows below 1000-1200 m; on
Lésvos island E Aegean Sea, Russell & Hall (2009) failed to
find the species above 20 m. Pamperis (2009) indicated that
M. megala has a preference for wet areas. Generally larger
than other very similar Maniola spp. (jurtina and telmessia),
with which M. megala flies in Hatay.

%LRORJ\
)OLJKW SHULRG late May to late September (after summer
aestivation). 600 – 1400 m in Hatay (Atahan et al., 2018: 94; © Dubi Benyamini © Dubi Benyamini
DB pers. obs.).

/LIH KLVWRU\ univoltine. Early stages unknown*, except number
of longitudinal ribs of the egg; 19-21 (Tolman 1997: 236).
Russel who tried several times to breed it from females taken
to the UK but did not lay eggs summarized his experience with
the species preferred biotope and ethology to DB: ‘The females
appear only a few days after the males – we found fresh males
28 May and saw first female 2 June. We did not see the end of
their flight periods. We saw them nectaring only on Brambles
(Rubus sp.) it was the same in W Turkey. The most obvious
feature of their biotopes on both Lesbos and Turkey was high
humidity – they were always near flowing or stagnant water –
rivers/streams, with lush vegetation, particularly tall grasses,
Oleander (in Turkey), Sallow/Willow (Salix sp.) and plenty of
brambles. They like shady places to rest – in Lesbos under
mature Pine trees, in Turkey Oriental Plane trees (Platanus
orientalis) growing along the river bank. Six females that were © Ofir Tomer
collected in Lesbos lived three months in captivity but did not ‹ 2ÀU 7RPHU
lay eggs. On a visit to Lesbos in September I could not find Mediterranean coast provinces of Turkey to Hatay. A
a single specimen having tried all the localities – plenty of thorough comparison of megala isolated populations
telmessia but no megala. I just do not know when they lay or in Lésvos Isl. (E Aegean Sea) with Akbès (TL in CS
indeed if or how long they aestivate’. The answer is possibly 7XUNH\ DQG 0XøOD 6: 7XUNH\ UHYHDOHG VLJQLILFDQW
given by the author’s observations near Serinyol – see above, differences in wingspan measurements where
Russell (2012 & pers. comm. to DB). Akbès specimens were much larger than the others
* Green frames arround the photographs of the eggs, larva & pupae and the Lésvos were the smallest but Russell (2012)
are of M. telmessia. concluded that while there is a “cline in reducing
size running from east to west….the species on
+RVWSODQWV Probably Poaceae (Gramineae) – Poa spp., Avena Lésvos is conspecific with M. megala”. A more
barbata [?] recent (Anastassiu et al., 2016b) second opinion
with emphasis on genitalia differences studied
by Anastassiu was the same. Coutsis & Ghavalas
'LVWULEXWLRQ reached a similar conclusion and stated that “based
on our own personal experiences…M. megala on
TL: Akbès (N Hatay Prov., Turkey). M. megala has a distribution Lésvos Island…cannot be considered as irrevocably
restricted to the island of Lésvos (Lesbos) and southern representing a separate subspecies in its own right”. ‹ 2ÀU 7RPHU © Dubi Benyamini

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2Butterflies of the Levant danaidae satyridae.indd 68 12/30/2021 4:23:10 PM 2Butterflies of the Levant danaidae satyridae.indd 77 12/30/2021 4:23:37 PM