Provençal fritillary - Mellicta deione

Provençal fritillary
Mellicta deione

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Subspecies berisalii:

Switzerland, June 2005.

This picture shows the upperside of the same insect, which is a female. It was taken by Matt Rowlings - we each had shots at getting upperside and underside but it made a bid for freedom before we were finished! Many thanks to him for letting me use it.

Male, Switzerland, June 2006

Male, Switzerland, June 2006, on the larval foodplant, toadflax

Foodplant with larval web near the bottom

Larval web

Subspecies deione:

Female, Val d'Aran, July 2004

The same individual, showing the underside.

The Provençal fritillary is superficially very similar to several other Mellicta species and for a long time I was in error concerning its identity. Fortunately, however, the Swiss subspecies, berisalii, although increasingly scarce, is actually very easy to identify given a good view. The underside margins show swollen black lunules (not present to anything like this extent in other subspecies) and the upperside details are fairly constant, showing a characteristic 'dumbell' mark in s1, a clear triangle of orange in the base of the forewing cell and, in the female, a clearly paler postdiscal band on the forewing. Habitat is also a good guide. At a strong Swiss site these insects are to be found not in the meadows but along dry tracks where the foodplant, toadflax, grows, with plenty of thyme and other herbs to feed on. The butterflies are, however, very mobile and extremely difficult to get close to!

Elsewhere in Europe some of the features above are notable, but more care needs to be taken. The upperside markings are regular and a little 'netlike', the paler band is present in the female and there are other characteristics best seen by examining pictures in a book carefully!