Fluturat e Shqipërisë
Butterflies of Albania

Sylvain Cuvelier =
Anila Paparisto =

Last update: 05.viii.2023

Boloria graeca / Balkan Fritillary
Fritilari ballkanik
Nymphalidae - Heliconiinae

Boloria graeca (Staudinger, 1870). TL: Mt. Veluchi (Timphristos), Greece.

1a. Boloria graeca, distribution map. Historical data ; Additional data from the 2018 update ; New observations since the 2018 update.
1b. Boloria graeca ♂ upperside. Qorre çika Mt., Albania (© Lulëzim Shuka)
1c. Boloria graeca ♀ upperside. Mali i Gramozit, Albania (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1d. Boloria graeca ♂ underside. BIH (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1e. Boloria graeca ♀ upperside. Bu (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1f. Boloria graeca ♀ underside. Bu (© Sylvain Cuvelier)

Description
♂♂
Small butterfly. Fw: 16-18 mm.
Hw: margin sharply angled at v8.
Ups: clear orange-fulvous gc, variable small markings.
Uph: black suffusion not including cell apex.
Unf: black spots well marked, complete in discal area.
Uns: paler gc.
Unh: at least three prominent postdiscal ocelli with bright center.
♀♀
Slightly larger.
Ups: paler gc, slightly more marked.
Unh: more marbled.

Similar species

Boloria pales Size:similar. Unf: absent of poorly marked, small black spots. Unh: yellowish-red gc. Unh: incomplete or absent pd spots. Boloria dia Size:smaller Boloria. Unh: violet-brown gc. Unh: silvery discal spots in s1c, s4, s7. Boloria euphrosyne Size:larger Boloria. Unh: sandy-red gc, yellow discal band. Unh: prominent silvery marginal spots. Boloria titania Size:largest Boloria. Unh: marbled purple-brown gc.

Life cycle
Adults: single generation from mid-June to end-August, sometimes early September.
Egg: short stage.
Caterpillar: overwintering as half-grown larva.
Pupa: probably short.

Habitat
Boloria graeca inhabits moist subalpine meadows and rocky slopes mainly from 1400 up to 2200 m a.s.l.
Spatial requirement is modest, population density can be high.

Foodplants
Caterpillars feed on Viola calcarata, V. eximia, V. perinensis and V. tricolor.
Butterflies feed on a large variety of flowers, often on Scabiosa sp.

Distribution
Albania: widespread in the Northern Albanian Alps, local in other mountain areas.
Balkan: AL - BG - BIH - GR - HR - NMK - MNE - RKS - RO - SLO - SRB
Europe: IB - IT* - ALP* - BAL - NWE - UK - SCA - EEU
E. Turkey.

Conservation status
Boloria graeca is not endangered.
Albanian Red List: NE.
IUCN Red List, category at the Mediterranean level: LC.

Useful links
Pyrgus.de
Lepiforum
euroButterflies

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