Melitaea aurelia

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Melitaea aurelia
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Melitaea
Species:	M. aurelia
Binomial name
Melitaea aurelia Nickerl, 1850

Melitaea aurelia, or Nickerl's fritillary, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in central Europe.

Description[]

The wingspan is 28–32 mm. Dark russet-brown, so strongly marked with black that the ground-colour is reduced in the female to very small spots. On the whole similar to Melitaea athalia, but smaller, with the black markings deeper in tint and heavier, the ground-colour darker, more brownish; beneath the marginal line before the fringes is absent or but very indistinct. The species is recognizable by the palpi bearing foxy red hairs, while the palpi of athalia are whitish, being occasionally somewhat reddish yellow and then only at the base.^[1]

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  Male

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  Male underside

Biology[]

The butterfly flies from June to August depending on the location. The larvae feed on Plantago lanceolata, Melampyrum pratense and yellow rattle.

References[]

External links[]

• Butterflies of Europe (in Dutch)
• Lepidoptera of Belgium

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