Melitaea didyma
Encyclopedia
- "Spotted Fritillary" redirects here. For the plant, see Fritillaria atropurpureaFritillaria atropurpureaFritillaria atropurpurea is a species of fritillary known by several common names, including spotted fritillary, purple fritillary, spotted mountainbells, and spotted missionbells.-Distribution:...
.
The Spotted Fritillary or Red-band Fritillary (Melitaea didyma) is a butterfly
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
of the Nymphalidae family. It is found primarily in Southern and Central Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
The wingspan
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
is 35-50 mm. The butterfly flies from April to September depending on the location.
The larvae feed on various plants, including Linaria
Linaria
Linaria is a genus of about 100 species of herbaceous annuals and perennials that was traditionally placed in the figwort family Scrophulariaceae. Due to new genetic research, it has now been placed in the vastly expanded family Plantaginaceae...
, Plantago lanceolata
Plantago lanceolata
Plantago lanceolata is a species of genus Plantago known by the common names ribwort plantain, English plantain, and narrowleaf plantain. It is a common weed of cultivated land....
, Veronica
Veronica (plant)
Veronica is the largest genus in the flowering plant family Plantaginaceae, with about 500 species; it was formerly classified in the family Scrophulariaceae...
, Centaurea jacea
Centaurea jacea
Centaurea jacea is a species of herbaceous perennial plants in the genus Centaurea native to dry meadows and open woodland throughout Europe...
and Digitalis purpurea
Digitalis purpurea
Digitalis purpurea , is a flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae , native to most of Europe.-Description:...
.