Butterflies of
Europe
False Heath
Fritillary
Melitaea diamina
LANG, 1789
Family - NYMPHALIDAE
subfamily -
NYMPHALINAE
Tribe - MELITAEINI
subtribe -
EUPHAEDRYINA
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False Heath Fritillary
Melitaea diamina, Drežnik Grad,
Croatia
© Peter Bruce-Jones |
Introduction
The genus
Melitaea comprises of about 70 small-medium sized
butterflies - species which are only very distantly related the the larger
Fritillaries such as Argynnis and
Argyreus, which are members of the subfamily
Heliconiinae.
Melitaea are
distributed widely across the Palaearctic region from
Portugal and Spain to Tibet, China and Japan. There are 8 European
species, of which 4 extend their range into north Africa. A single species
abyssinica is found in Ethiopia, but the genus is
not represented south of the Sahara. The remaining species are all inhabitants of the temperate grasslands, woodlands and mountain
valleys of central Asia.
Melitaea diamina
is found from Spain, across central Europe to Siberia, China, Korea and Japan.
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False Heath Fritillary
Melitaea diamina, Plitvička,
Croatia
© Peter Bruce-Jones |
Habitats
This is a
mid-elevation species found in meadows and woodland clearings.
Lifecycle
The larval
foodplants include Valeriana,
Veronica,
Melampyrum, Plantago,
Patrinia and
Polygonum.
Adult behaviour
Males, unlike
those of the very similar Heath Fritillary
Mellicta athalia, do not usually mud-puddle. Both sexes
visit a wide range of herbaceous flowers for nectar.
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