Fluturat e Shqipërisë
Butterflies of Albania

Sylvain Cuvelier =
Anila Paparisto =

Last update: 15.iv.2024

Melanargia russiae / Esper's Marbled White
Laramanja e lartësive
Nymphalidae - Satyrinae

Melanargia russiae (Esper, [1783]). TL: S. Russia.

1a. Melanargia russiae, distribution map. Historical data ; Additional data from the 2018 update ; New observations since the 2018 update.
1b. Melanargia russiae ♂ underside. Mali i Thatë, Albania (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1c. Melanargia russiae upperside and underside. Qorre Cika, Albania (© Lulëzim Shuka)
1d. Melanargia russiae copula. Qorre Cika, Albania (© Lulëzim Shuka)
1e. Habitat of Melanargia russiae. Mali i Thatë (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1f. Melanargia russiae underside. Cajupi plain, Albania (© Lulëzim Shuka)
1g. Melanargia russiae lateral. Cajupi plain, Albania (© Lulëzim Shuka)

Description
♂♂
Medium size butterfly. Fw: 25-27 mm.
Ups: heavy but variable black markings, pale spot in the black cell-end marking, zig-zag black bar crossing the cell.
Unh: grey markings strongly oulined by black lines, conspicuous ocelli not enclosed in grey fuscous spaces.
♀♀
Larger.
Ups: extensive, slightly more grey markings.
Uns: variable yellow flush.

Similar species

Melanargia galathea Size:similar Upf: no dark suffused basal areas. Upf: no cross-line in the cell. Uph: no dark suffused basal areas. Unh: broken central band. Unh: poorly marked veins in central band. Melanargia larissa Size:slighlyt larger Upf: no dark suffused basal areas. Upf: cell crossed by zig-zag black bar. Uph: no dark suffused basal areas. Unh: unbroken central band. Unh: black-marked veins in central band.

Life cycle
Adults: single generation from mid-June to mid-August.
Egg: short stage.
Caterpillar: overwintering as L2 larva.
Pupa: short stage.

Habitat
Melanargia russiae inhabits warm mountain grasslands with some scattered bushes from 1000 up to 1900 m a.s.l.
Spatial requirement modest, population density can be high.

Foodplants
Caterpillars feed on Agrostis capillaris, Briza sp., Bromus erectus, Festuca sp., Lamarckia aurea and Poa annua.
Butterflies feed on a large variety of larger flowers.

Distribution
Albania: very local and at the limit of its distribution range in Balkan.
Balkan: AL - BG - BIH - GR - HR - NMK - MNE - RKS - RO - SLO - SRB
Europe: IB - IT - ALP* - BAL - NWE - UK - SCA - EEU*
Transcaucasia, Caucasus and further east.

Conservation status
Melanargia russiae is not endangered.
Albanian Red List: NT.
IUCN Red List, category at the Mediterranean level: LC.

Useful links
Pyrgus.de
Lepiforum
Euroleps

Contact