Fluturat e Shqipërisë
Butterflies of Albania

Sylvain Cuvelier =
Anila Paparisto =

Last update: 15.iv.2024

Coenonympha leander / Russian Heath
Leandra
Nymphalidae - Satyrinae

Coenonympha leander (Esper, [1784]). TL: Volga, Russia.

1a. Coenonympha leander, distribution map. Historical data ; Additional data from the 2018 update ; New observations since the 2018 update.
1b. Coenonympha leander ♀ underside. Bulgaria (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1c. Habitat of Coenonympha leander. North of Mali i Korabit (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1d. Coenonympha leander ♂ underside. Greece (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1e. Coenonympha leander ♂ underside. Greece (© Sylvain Cuvelier)

Description
♂♂
Small butterfly. Fw: 16-17 mm.
Ups: dark brown gc.
Upf: sometimes with fulvous flush.
Uph: rarely two or three blind submarginal ocelli, often an orange mark at the anal angle and sometimes spreading to s3.
Unf: orange gc with a small, white pupiled apical ocellus.
Unh: ocelli touching the large orange marginal band, metallic antemarginal line.
♀♀
Slightly larger.
Upf: yellow-buff gc, variable shading of the outer margin and often a small apical ocellus.
Uph: often yellow anal submarginal markings expanding as a band, sometimes with small ocelli.
Uns: similar as ♂♂.

Similar species

Coenonympha glycerion P (never recorded from Albania) Upf: large dark brown suffusion. Uph: small orange marginal band. Uph: ♂♂ no ocelli. Uph: ♀♀ vague ocelli. Unh: yellow ringed, white-pupiled ocelli. Unh: orange antemarginal line. Coenonympha pamphilus Upf: narrow distinct grey borders. Upf: apical ocellus. Uph: no ocelli. Unh: obscure small white ocelli (can be lacking) Unh: grey basal area (spring form) Unh: pale yellowish band (summer form) Unh: no metallic antemarginal line. Coenonympha rhodopensis Upf: diffuse pale grey border. Upf: small apical ocellus. Uph: variable ocelli. Unh: greyish basal suffusion, monochrome gc. Unh: variable ocelli. Unh: no metallic antemarginal line.

Life cycle
Adults: single generation from late May to July depending on altitude.
Egg: short stage.
Caterpillar: hibernating as half-grown larva.
Pupa: short stage.

Habitat
Coenonympha leander inhabits warm flowery grassy slopes with scattered bushes and at the forest edge from 500 to 1700 m a.s.l.
Spatial requirement modest, population density often high.

Foodplants
Caterpillars feed on Festuca ovina and Brachypodium sylvaticum.
Butterflies feed on a large variety of flowers in the herb vegetation.

Distribution
Albania: very local (more research needed)
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 leander is not endangered, at the western limit of its European range in the Balkan peninsula.
Albanian Red List: NT.
IUCN Red List, category at the Mediterranean level: NT.

Useful links
Pyrgus.de
Lepiforum
Euroleps

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