Fluturat e Shqipërisë
Butterflies of Albania

Sylvain Cuvelier =
Anila Paparisto =

Last update: 20.xii.2023

Coenonympha arcania / Pearly Heath
Arkania
Nymphalidae - Satyrinae

Coenonympha arcania (Linnaeus, 1761). TL: Sweden.

1a. Coenonympha arcania, distribution map. Historical data ; Additional data from the 2018 update ; New observations since the 2018 update.
1b. Coenonympha arcania underside. Hasi district, Albania (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1c. Coenonympha arcania underside. SRB (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1d. Coenonympha arcania underside. SRB (© Sylvain Cuvelier)

Description
♂♂
Small butterfly. Fw: 17-20 mm.
Ups: yellow-orange gc.
Upf: wide fuscous marginal border.
Uph: dark fuscous, sometimes a small postdiscal ocellus.
Unf: reduced marginal border, metallic antemarginal line.
Unh: ocelli with external yellow-orange and black rings, white band dentate, metallic antemarginal line.
♀♀
Sligthly larger.
Unh: white dentate band often larger.

Similar species

Coenonympha orientalis Size:slightly smaller Coenonympha. Upf: diffuse darker border. Uph: ♂♂ conspicuous orange area. Uph: ♀♀ dark ocelli (variable) Unh: regular white band. Unh: no external yellow-orange and black ringed ocelli. Other Coenonympha. Unh: no full white band.

Life cycle
Adults: single generation from June to August.
Egg: 7-16 days.
Caterpillar: overwintering as L4 larva, hiden in a tussock of the foodplant.
Pupa: 10-19 days.

Habitat
Coenonympha arcania inhabits various flowery grasslands with scattered bushes or trees from 300 m up to 1700 m a.s.l.
Spatial requirement is modest, population density often high.

Foodplants
Caterpillars feed mainly on Brachypodium pinnatum, Festuca ovina and F. rubra, also mentioned are Agrostis vinealis, Carex brizoides, C. praecox, Cynosurus cristatus, Danthonia decumbens, Melica ciliata, M. minuta, M. uniflora and Poa sp.
Butterflies feed on a large variety of flowers.

Distribution
Albania: widespread in the mountains.
Balkan: AL - BG - BIH - GR - HR - NMK - MNE - RKS - RO - SLO - SRB
Europe: IB - IT - ALP - BAL - NWE* - UK - SCA* - EEU
Asia Minor, Transcaucasia, Caucasus and further east.

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

Useful links
Bink 2015
Pyrgus.de
Lepiforum
Euroleps

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