Melitaea parthenoides

Melitaea parthenoides

The Meadow Fritillary is a butterfly of the Nymphalidae family. Note that the common name ''Meadow Fritillary'', is also used for the North American species ''Boloria bellona''. It is found in south-western Europe, more specifically on the Iberian Peninsula, south-western France, parts of the Italian Alps and southern and south-western Germany and a few regions of Switzerland. Recently one was spotted by an officer for The Parks Trust on private farmland in Tingewick, Buckingham, England, which was later confirmed by the Butterfly Conservation, as reported in the local newspaper dated 15th August 2014.
meadow fritillary-Melitaea parthenoides one from France, we had a lot of them in the meadow nearby. Butterfly,France,Geotagged,Melitaea parthenoides,Nymphalidae,Spring,meadow fritillary

Appearance

The wingspan is 28–34 mm. In dry, favourable climates, adults are on wing in two generations, from May to June and from August to September. On high altitudes, there is one generation from June to July.


The larvae feed on ''Plantago'' species, but mainly ''Plantago lanceolata''.

References:

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Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionArthropoda
ClassInsecta
OrderLepidoptera
FamilyNymphalidae
GenusMelitaea
SpeciesM. parthenoides
Photographed in
France