The Knapweed Fritillary (Melitaea phoebe) 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 in the Palearctic ecozone, except the Northernmost locations. It used to include Melitaea telona

Melitaea telona

Melitaea telona is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. The species rank of Melitaea telona was only very recently recognised in two publications by Russell, et al. in 2005 and 2007...

, recently revalidated as a distinct cryptic species.

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 34-50 mm. The butterfly flies from April to September depending on the location.

The larvae feed on Plantago

Plantago

Plantago is a genus of about 200 species of small, inconspicuous plants commonly called plantains. They share this name with the very dissimilar plantain, a kind of banana. Most are herbaceous plants, though a few are subshrubs growing to 60 cm tall. The leaves are sessile, but have a narrow...

and Centaurea

Centaurea

Centaurea is a genus of between 350 and 600 species of herbaceous thistle-like flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Members of the genus are found only north of the equator, mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere; the Middle East and surrounding regions are particularly species-rich...

species (including 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...

).