Butterflies of
Britain & Europe
Meadow Brown
Maniola jurtina
LINNAEUS, 1758
Family - NYMPHALIDAE
subfamily -
SATYRINAE
Tribe - SATYRINI
subtribe - MANIOLINA
introduction
|
habitats |
lifecycle |
adult behaviour
|
 |
|
Meadow Brown
Maniola jurtina, female, Stockbridge Down,
Hampshire, England |
Introduction
The
Meadow Brown is one of the commonest and most widespread species in Europe,
absent only from sub-arctic areas of Scandinavia. Beyond Europe it occurs in
Morocco, Algeria, Turkey, the Middle East, and eastward to the Urals and western
Siberia.
There are several similar
species which occur on Mediterranean islands ( Maniola megala, M. chia, M. halicarnassus
& M. nurag
), in northern Africa ( Pyronia janiroides, Hyponephele moroccana
) and the Middle East ( Maniola telmessia, Hyponephele lycaon
& H. lupina
), but the Meadow Brown cannot be confused with any other British species.
Meadow Browns are subject to a degree of variation in the extent and brightness
of the orange areas on the upper wing surface, particularly in the females, in
which the orange suffusion spreads across into the basal area.
It
is also common to find pathologically aberrant specimens, particularly females,
which are marked with irregular and asymmetrical whitish patches on the
uppersides.
Meadow Brown
Maniola jurtina, female, Fisherlane Wood, Surrey,
England
Meadow Brown
Maniola jurtina, male, Bentley Wood, Wiltshire,
England
Habitats
100 years ago the Meadow
Brown could be found in almost any grassy lowland habitat throughout the British
Isles. Today although it is still very widespread and often abundant, it has
become more localised. It is found in the greatest
numbers on ungrazed calcareous grasslands, woodland glades and grassy rides; but
also occurs commonly on damp
heathlands, undercliffs, hay meadows, road verges, set-aside farmland, and along hedgerows. In
many of these habitats the populations can
run into several hundreds, and at the best sites can be counted in tens of
thousands.
Smaller populations occur
on grazed grasslands, cliff tops, coppiced woodland, and long established
unkempt gardens. The species is however entirely absent from "improved" pastures which have
been subjected to the application of fertilisers.
|
 |
|
Meadow Brown
Maniola jurtina, male, Bentley Wood,
Wiltshire |
Lifecycle
The Meadow Brown is single brooded
( even in southern Europe and north Africa ), but has a very
protracted emergence beginning in early June and extending into September. There is no evidence to support
the theory that the butterfly is double brooded. Emergence times
are in fact controlled by genetics - offspring which inherit
certain types of gene will have a short larval development
period, producing early adults, while those inheriting a
different combination of genes have larvae which develop much
more slowly, producing the later adults.
The eggs are spherical, straw
coloured, with reddish blotches. They are laid singly on or
amongst grasses, sometimes glued to stems or grass blades, but
often just dropped into the vegetation by perching females.
The larvae hatch after about
14 days. They
feed on a wide
range of grasses including
Festuca ovina, Brachypodium
pinnatum, Holcus lanatus
and Agrostis
setacea,
but strongly favour smooth meadow grass
Poa pratensis, avoiding the coarser leaves.
Those caterpillars
which hatch in June or early July feed up quite slowly, reaching
their 2nd instar in early October. The offspring of
later-emerging adults may not hatch until late August or
September. Both they and the early hatching larvae spend the
winter months hibernating singly at the base of grass tussocks,
although they sometimes emerge to feed in mild weather, even in
mid winter. At the beginning of March they awaken fully from
their state of semi-diapause, and after a few evenings of
feeding they are ready to moult their skins and enter the 3rd
instar.
The over-wintered larvae develop
at various rates, achieving full growth at sometime between May
and late August.
When fully grown
they
are slightly hairy, bright green in colour, and have a dark stripe along the back and pale
lines along the sides. The caudal prongs are white. The larvae feed nocturnally,
and at dusk can be found sitting near the
top of grass stems. During daytime they hide deep in the
tussocks.
About 25% of the larvae are killed by the parasitoid wasp
Apanteles tetricus. Other causes of
larval mortality include bacterial pathogens and predation by
birds and spiders.
Total mortality occurring between eggs hatching and adult
butterflies emerging has been estimated at 43% of the
population.
The pupae are
variable, some having a bluish-green ground colour, while others
are almost white. Dark chestnut or blackish varieties also
occur. All forms are marked with prominent black stripes on the wing cases
and dark dots along the back. They are suspended from grass stems
or blades, with the shrivelled larval skin still attached to the
cremaster. The pupal stage lasts about 3 weeks.
Adult behaviour
Meadow Browns spend long
periods nectaring, usually with their wings closed, on a wide
variety of wild flowers including knapweeds, thistles, heathers,
bramble blossom, ragwort, hogweed, small scabious, devil's bit
scabious, privet, wild basil, marjoram, hawkbit and
hemp agrimony.
In hazy or weak
sunlight the butterflies bask on bushes, or amongst grasses, but
when conditions are overcast or cool they hide amongst low
vegetation.
Copulation occurs
following a very brief courtship ritual, in which the female
adopts a fluttering and gliding flight just above the grasses,
while the male flutters very closely behind her, almost making
physical contact during flight. Copulated pairs remain very alert
and readily take
flight if disturbed, with the female carrying the male.
Meadow Browns
have often been found copulated with other Satyrine species
including Gatekeeper, Ringlet and Marbled White, and on rare
occasions have even been known to copulate with Small
Tortoiseshells.
It is very common
to find adults infested with tiny red mites which attach
themselves to the head, thorax or legs of the butterflies. These
Arachnids pierce the soft membrane between the segments, and feed
on the bodily fluids, but do not appear to cause any significant
harm to their hosts. The mites, Trombidium breei, are particularly common at chalk
grassland sites, where they also attack Marbled Whites, Common
Blues, Chalkhill Blues and Small Skippers.
|
