Pyrgus melotis

Pyrgus melotis, the Aegean skipper, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It was described by Philogène Auguste Joseph Duponchel in 1832. It is found in the Caucasus, Transcaucasia, Asia Minor, Greece and the Middle East.[1] This is considered to be a subspecies of the Pyrgus malvae that was separated from the grizzled skipper by significant reproductive isolation mechanisms.[2] The habitat consists of grasslands and slopes.

Pyrgus melotis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Hesperiidae
Genus: Pyrgus
Species:
P. melotis
Binomial name
Pyrgus melotis
(Duponchel, [1834])
Synonyms
  • Hesperia melotis Duponchel, [1834]

The length of the forewings is 11–15 mm. It is characterized by the underside of the hindwings, which is cream-coloured, thus obscuring the markings; the spots on the upperside, especially those of the forewings, are generally large and square.[3] Adults are on wing from April to June and again from July to September in two or sometimes three generations per year.

Larvae have been recorded feeding on Rubus species.[4]

Subspecies
  • Pyrgus melotis melotis
  • Pyrgus melotis ponticus Reverdin, 1914 (Caucasus, Transcaucasia)

References
  1. Pyrgus at funet
  2. Jong, Rienk (1987). "Superspecies Pyrgus malvae (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) in the East Mediterranean, with notes on phylogenetic and biological relationships". Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie – via Naturalis Repository.
  3. Superspecies Pyrgus malvae (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) in the east Mediterranean, with notes on phylogenetic and biological relationships
  4. Russian Insects


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