False Heath Fritillary Melitaea diamina, Dre�nik Grad, Croatia – Peter Bruce-Jones
Introduction
The genus Melitaea comprises of about 70 small-medium sized butterflies – species which are only very distantly related the the larger Fritillaries such as Argynnis and Argyreus, which are members of the subfamily Heliconiinae.
Melitaea are distributed widely across the Palaearctic region from Portugal and Spain to Tibet, China and Japan. There are 8 European species, of which 4 extend their range into north Africa. A single species abyssinica is found in Ethiopia, but the genus is not represented south of the Sahara. The remaining species are all inhabitants of the temperate grasslands, woodlands and mountain valleys of central Asia.
Melitaea diamina is found from Spain, across central Europe to Siberia, China, Korea and Japan.
False Heath Fritillary Melitaea diamina, Plitvička, Croatia – Peter Bruce-Jones
Habitats
This is a mid-elevation species found in meadows and woodland clearings.
Lifecycle
The larval foodplants include Valeriana, Veronica, Melampyrum, Plantago, Patrinia and Polygonum.
Adult behaviour
Males, unlike those of the very similar Heath Fritillary Mellicta athalia, do not usually mud-puddle. Both sexes visit a wide range of herbaceous flowers for nectar.