Butterflies of the World - Lifecycle, Ecology, Taxonomy, Conservation, Photography, Butterfly Holidays, Photo Galleries, Book Reviews and more.........
Text and photographs protected by Copyright © Adrian Hoskins 2007, and must not be published in part or in whole elsewhere without prior written permission from the author.
Butterflies of Britain & Europe
 
Grayling
Hipparchia semele LINNAEUS, 1758
Family - NYMPHALIDAE
subfamily - SATYRINAE
Tribe - SATYRINI
 
 introduction | habitats | lifecycle | adult behaviour
 
Grayling Hipparchia semele, male, New Forest, Hampshire, England
 
Introduction
 
The Grayling is distributed across much of Europe, but absent from Greece, northern Scandinavia, and most of the Mediterranean islands. On Corsica it is replaced by the endemic Hipparchia neomiris, and on Crete by H. cretica. The very similar H. aristaeus occurs on Sardinia, Sicily, the Greek islands, mainland Greece, Turkey, Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria. Another butterfly with which the Grayling could very easily be confused is Hipparchia pellucida, but that is restricted to Turkey, Cyprus and parts of the Middle East.
 
Grayling Hipparchia semele, male, Wareham Heath, Dorset, England
 
Habitats
 
The Grayling breeds at hot, sparsely vegetated, and well drained sites. In Britain it is essentially a coastal species, found on shingle banks, cliff tops, undercliffs, chalk or limestone scree, and sand dunes.
 
It also occurs on dry heathland habitats, e.g. in Hampshire, Dorset and East Anglia, but has contracted it's range during the last 50 years, and is nowadays scarce more than about 20 miles ( 35km ) inland. On heathlands it occurs mainly along fire breaks or in areas where controlled burning has created a dry grassy habitat with extensive areas of bare ground.
 
Grayling Hipparchia semele, male, Ballard Down, Dorset, England
 
Lifecycle
 
The egg is laid singly in July and August on fine grasses such as bristle bent Agrostis setacea ( heathland ) sheep's fescue Festuca ovina ( on calcareous soils ) or marram Ammophila araenaria ( sand dunes ). A much wider range of grass species are used in continental Europe.
 
The larva, like most Satyrines feeds nocturnally, and during daylight hides away at the base of a grass clump. It hibernates from September to March, when it resumes feeding and becomes fully grown in late May or early June.
 
The mature larva is a dull pale brown colour, with whitish-edged dark stripes along the back and sides. When ready to pupate it wanders a short distance and burrows just beneath the surface of the soil, where the change to the pupa takes place.
 
The pupa is reddish brown, shiny and smooth, with a hooked abdomen. The pupal stage lasts for about 3 - 4 weeks.
 
Grayling Hipparchia semele, perfectly disguised at rest on dead wood
 
Adult behaviour

 

The marbled underside wings are an excellent example of disruptive patterning, enabling the butterfly to blend perfectly into a variety of different environments. The butterfly spends long periods at rest, and is equally well concealed when resting on tree trunks, bare earth, shingle or rocks.

 

Grayling Hipparchia semele, master of camouflage

 

When disturbed, Graylings take flight instantly, twisting and looping rapidly, just above the ground, before re-settling nearby on bare earth or on a tree trunk or fallen branch. Upon landing they snap the wings shut, but raise the forewing so that the eyespot near the apex is visible. This way, if a bird spots where they have landed, and attacks, it is likely to aim at the eyespot rather than at the body of the butterfly. Once the butterfly feels "safe", it lowers the forewing to hide the eyespot behind the hindwing.

 

In cool conditions the butterflies tilt over to present the maximum area of wing surface to the sun, which quickly raises their body temperature. This enables them to maintain high energy levels, and remain alert at all times, instantly ready to intercept potential mates. In hot conditions they tilt their wings in the opposite direction to avoid over-heating, by minimising the amount of sunlight hitting the wings.

 

Grayling Hipparchia semele, male, Silchester Common, Hampshire, England

 

Grayling Hipparchia semele, male, Godshill, Hampshire, England

 

The butterflies do not normally open their wings when settled, but copulated females will do so briefly when approached by a second intruding male. At this time the ocelli on the upperside are displayed prominently, and probably act as a signal to warn off the intruding butterfly.

 

Normally the butterflies rest on bare ground, but at some sites they prefer to settle on tree trunks or logs, while at others they can be seen resting on dry-stone walls. In July 2007 at Wareham Heath I found a male settled on a log. Every time I approached, it flew up, then circled around me and resettled on the same log. Despite this apparent territorial behaviour, my observations indicate that male Graylings do not actively defend these "territories" against other males.

 

Favourite nectar sources include bell heather, cross leaved heath, valerian, marjoram and bramble blossom.

 
                                                       
Almost every British and European species of butterfly is declining rapidly in numbers, due in most cases to loss or degradation of habitats.
 
You can help to reverse the decline by supporting conservation organisations which purchase and manage habitats as nature reserves, and which lobby government at local, national and international levels, often very successfully, to bring about changes in farming, forestry and urban development policies.
 
Please contact the conservation organisations for advice on how you can help protect British and European butterflies and their habitats. You may be able to offer practical help e.g. by monitoring butterfly populations or helping to manage nature reserves. Donations to these organisations enable them to employ ecologists and biologists. Even if you are unable to provide such help, merely having your name on the membership list can be a powerful tool for conservation organisations wishing to demonstrate the levels of support they have for their policies.

 

 
Related subjects
 
The courtship behaviour of the Grayling has been well documented by Niko Tinbergen. A detailed summary of this study is found in "Butterflies of the World" by Rod and Ken Preston-Mafham, 1988, Blandford Press.
 
Text and images protected by Copyright © Adrian Hoskins 2007-2008, ( unless stated otherwise ) and must not be reproduced or published in part or in whole elsewhere in any form without written permission from Adrian Hoskins. Breach of copyright will be pursued by litigation.
 
Website designed, produced and owned by Adrian Hoskins