Fluturat e Shqipërisë
Butterflies of Albania

Sylvain Cuvelier =
Anila Paparisto =

Last update: 20.xii.2023

Lasiommata megera / Wall Brown
Megera
Nymphalidae - Satyrinae

Lasiommata megera (Linnaeus, 1767). TL: Austria and Denmark.

1a. Lasiommata megera, distribution map. Historical data ; Additional data from the 2018 update ; New observations since the 2018 update.
1b. Lasiommata megera ♂ underside. Hasi District, Albania (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1c. Lasiommata megera ♀ underside. Belgium (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1d. Lasiommata megera ♂ upperside. Romania (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1e. Lasiommata megera ♂ upperside. Belgium (© Sylvain Cuvelier)

Description
♂♂
Medium size butterfly. Fw: 19-25 mm.
Ups: orange-yellow gc with dark brown pattern.
Upf: conspicuous sex-brand, white-pupilled apical ocellus, often small additional ocellus.
Uph: white-pupilled ocelli from s1c to s4.
Unh: grey and slightly mottled gc, pale brown-ringed ocelli in postdiscal band from s1c to s6.
♀♀
Slightly larger.
Ups: slightly paler gc.

Similar species

Lasiommata maera Size:larger Lasiommata. Very variable ♂♂ and ♀♀. Upf: brown gc in basal area. Uph: no dark transverse discal line. Lasiommata petropolitana Size:slightly larger Lasiommata. Upf: dark brown gc in basal area. Upf: two obscure dark cross-bars in cell. Uph: dark curving wavy transverse discal line.

Life cycle
Adults: continuous generations from March to October.
Egg: 5-11 days.
Caterpillar: overwintering as L3 larva.
Pupa: 12-22 days.

Habitat
Lasiommata megera inhabits a large variety of rough, stony grounds from lowland up to 1800 m a.s.l.
Spatial requirement considerable, population density can be moderate.

Foodplants
Caterpillars feed mainly on Bromus erectus, B. hordeaceus, B. sterilis, Cynosurus cristatus, Dactylis glomarata, Danthonia decumbens, Festuca ovina, F. rubra, Poa annua, P. bulbosa and P. pratensis, also mentioned are Aegilops geniculata, Agrostis capillaris, A. gigantea, A. stolonifera, Brachypodium phoenicoides, B. pinnatum, B. retusum, B. sylvaticum, Carex distachia, Cynodon dactylon, Cynosurus cristatus, Deschampsia flexuosa, Elymus repens, Holcus lanatus, L. perenne and Stipa pennata.
Butterflies feed on a large variety of flowers in the herb vegetation.

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

Conservation status
Lasiommata megera is not endangered.
Albanian Red List: NT.
IUCN Red List, category at the Mediterranean level: NT.

Useful links
Bink 2015
Pyrgus.de
Lepiforum
Euroleps

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