Page 253 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

BUTTERFLY CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Nymphalidae
DISTRIBUTION Europe, across central Asia, southern Siberia, Mongolia,
northeast China, Korea, and Japan
HABITAT Various, including pine woodlands, coppiced woodlands, alpine
meadows, grasslands, wetlands, and fens
HOST PLANTS Mostly Valeriana spp.; also cow wheat (Melampyrum spp.)
NOTE Spiny caterpillar that overwinters within curled-up dead leaves
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated, but locally threatened

ADULT WINGSPAN
1¼–1⅝ in (32–42 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH
⁄ in (18 mm)
MELITAEA DIAMINA
FALSE HEATH FRITILLARY 251

(LANG, 1789)

False Heath Fritillary caterpillars hatch from pale yellow eggs
laid by the female in batches of about 100 on the underside of
leaves of the host plant. The larvae are gregarious, living and
feeding together in a communal web spun from silk threads.
On cool but sunny days they may be seen basking on the surface. Actual size
The caterpillars overwinter inside dead, curled leaves beneath
the host plant and become active again from April. As they
mature, they become increasingly solitary. The larvae pupate, The False Heath Fritillary caterpillar is dark
hanging from stems of the host plant. The pupa is creamy white brown with gray-white dots and a single,
dark dorsal stripe. There are bands of
with brown-black marks. yellow-brown spines, often gray at the tips.
The head is black with black hairs.

The adults, strongly marked in a chequered pattern of orange,
black, and white, are on the wing from May to September,
depending on altitude. There is usually a single generation
annually. The species is in decline across much of its range,
although it continues to be common on damp alpine meadows
and fenland.