Pyrgus melotis
Pyrgus melotis | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Lepidoptera |
Family: | Hesperiidae |
Genus: | Pyrgus |
Species: | P. melotis
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Binomial name | |
Pyrgus melotis (Duponchel, [1834])
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Synonyms | |
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Pyrgus melotis, the Aegean skipper, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It was described by Philogène Auguste Joseph Duponchel in 1832. It is found in the Caucasus, Transcaucasia, Asia Minor, Greece and the Middle East.[1] This is considered to be a subspecies of the Pyrgus malvae that was separated from the grizzled skipper by significant reproductive isolation mechanisms.[2] The habitat consists of grasslands and slopes.
The length of the forewings is 11–15 mm. It is characterized by the underside of the hindwings, which is cream-coloured, thus obscuring the markings; the spots on the upperside, especially those of the forewings, are generally large and square.[3] Adults are on wing from April to June and again from July to September in two or sometimes three generations per year.
Larvae have been recorded feeding on Rubus species.[4]
Subspecies[]
- Pyrgus melotis melotis
- Pyrgus melotis ponticus Reverdin, 1914 (Caucasus, Transcaucasia)
References[]
- ^ Pyrgus at funet
- ^ Jong, Rienk (1987). "Superspecies Pyrgus malvae (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) in the East Mediterranean, with notes on phylogenetic and biological relationships". Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie – via Naturalis Repository.
- ^ Superspecies Pyrgus malvae (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) in the east Mediterranean, with notes on phylogenetic and biological relationships
- ^ Russian Insects
Wikispecies has information related to Pyrgus melotis. |
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External links[]
- Pyrgus
- Butterflies described in 1832
- Hesperiidae stubs