Fluturat e Shqipërisë
Butterflies of Albania

Sylvain Cuvelier =
Anila Paparisto =

Last update: 15.iv.2024

Hipparchia fatua / Freyer's Grayling
Fatua
Nymphalidae - Satyrinae

Hipparchia fatua Freyer, [1843]. TL: Gediz, Kütahya, W. Turkey.

1a. Hipparchia fatua, distribution map. Historical data ; Additional data from the 2018 update ; New observations since the 2018 update.
1b. Hipparchia fatua ♂ underside. Greece (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1c. Hipparchia fatua ♂ underside. Greece (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1d. Hipparchia fatua ♂ underside. Greece (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1e. Habitat of Hipparchia fatua. Greece (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1f. Hipparchia fatua ♂. Greece (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1g. Hipparchia fatua ♂. Greece (© Sylvain Cuvelier)

Description
♂♂
Large butterfly. Fw: 30-34 mm.
Ups: sex-brand, dark grey-brown gc.
Upf: blind ocelli in s2 and s5, often small white spots in s3 and s4.
Uph: well defined and continuous dark submarginal line of externally concave lunules.
Unf: black gc, white-pupiled ocelli in s2 and s5, bigger white spots in s3 and s4.
Unh: sharply defined black discal and submarginal line, sharp scalloped submarginal line.
♀♀
Larger.
Upf: yellowish posdiscal markings, yellow ringed and white-pupiled ocelli in s2 and s5, marked white spots in s3 and s4.
Uph: small conspicuous ocellus in s2, often white spots in s3 to s6.

Similar species

Hipparchia statilinus Size:smaller Hipparchia. Uph: unsharp sm line. Unh: unsharp scalloped sm line. Unh: indefinite marked or absent discal line.

Life cycle
Adults: single generation from June to September, aestivation period.
Egg: short stage.
Caterpillar: overwintering.
Pupa: short stage.

Habitat
Hipparchia fatua inhabits hot and dry stony places with scattered bushes or small trees, from lowland up to 1000 m a.s.l.
Spatial requirement moderate, population density can be moderate.

Fig. 2. Habitat of Hipparchia fatua. Greece (© Sylvain Cuvelier)

Foodplants
Caterpillars feed on Festuca sp. and Poa annua.
Butterflies rarely seen feeding on flowers, often resting on stones or tree trunks.

Distribution
Albania: only one old record at the northern limit of its distribution range in the Balkan peninsula (more research needed in southern Albania)
Balkan: AL - BG - BIH - GR - HR - NMK - MNE - RKS - RO - SLO - SRB
Europe: IB - IT - ALP - BAL - NWE - UK - SCA - EEU
Asia Minor, Near East, Transcaucasia and further east.

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

Useful links
Pyrgus.de
Lepiforum
Euroleps

Contact