''Arethusana'' is a

butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

from the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

Satyrinae The Satyrinae, the satyrines or satyrids, commonly known as the browns, are a subfamily of the Nymphalidae (brush-footed butterflies). They were formerly considered a distinct family, Satyridae. This group contains nearly half of the known divers ...

of the

brush-footed butterfly The Nymphalidae are the largest family of butterflies, with more than 6,000 species distributed throughout most of the world. Belonging to the superfamily Papilionoidea, they are usually medium-sized to large butterflies. Most species have ...

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

(Nymphalidae). It is composed of only one species, ''Arethusana arethusa'', the false grayling.

Subspecies

Subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

include:''Arethusana''
at Markku Savela's ''Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms'' *''Arethusana arethusa aksouali'' Wyatt, 1952 (western Morocco: Toubkal Massif) *''Arethusana arethusa arethusa'' *''Arethusana arethusa heptapotamica'' (Stauder, 1924) (

Tian Shan The Tian Shan, also known as the Tengri Tagh or Tengir-Too, meaning the "Mountains of God/Heaven", is a large system of mountain ranges in Central Asia. The highest peak is Jengish Chokusu at high and located in Kyrgyzstan. Its lowest point is ...

, Dzhungarsky Alatau, Saur, Tarbagatai) *''Arethusana arethusa pontica'' (Heyne,

895 __NOTOC__ Year 895 ( DCCCXCV) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * The Magyars are expelled from western Siberia, and settle in the Carpathian Basin, under the leadership of Árpád ( ...

(Caucasus, Armenian Highland) *''Arethusana arethusa boabdil'' (Rambur, 1895) (Granda, Andalusia – Spain) *''Arethusana arethusa dentata'' (Staudinger, 1871) (Catalonia – Spain) The subspecies ''Arethusana arethusa boabdil'' and ''Arethusana arethusa dentata'' are considered as full species by some authors.Satyrinae of the Western Palearctic - Arethusana arethusa
/ref>

Description

''Arethusana arethusa'' has a

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...

of in males, of in females. The length of the forewings can reach 21–25 mm. The upper surface of the wings is dark brown, with a characteristic series of ocher-orange oval markings forming a V and a blackish brown large spot close to the top of the forewings. Also the hindwings have a small blackish spot near the border. The external edges of the wings has a tooth-shaped pattern. The underside of the hindwings is mottled and shows a transversal whitish band dividing the wing and well marked white veins. This species is rather similar to '' Pseudochazara graeca'' and '' Pseudochazara orestes''.

Description in Seitz

''S. arethusa'' Esp. (43b, c). Above dark brown, with a yellow distal band, which is usually separated into spots in the male, and paler and broader in the female, the apical ocellus being without pupil and the fringes chequered grey and brown. The forewing is yellow beneath, the margin being marmorated with grey like the hindwing. which latter has a dark, in the male sinuous, median line, on the outside of which there is a pale band irrorated with white-grey. The distal band of the upperside varies enormously: it may be broad and continuous, or completely absent from the hindwing and vestigial on the forewing. — In ab. ''erythia'' Hbn., from South France and the East, the distal band is slightly dentate, the spots being acuminate: — in ab. ''dentata''. which is the usual form at the Riviera, the spots are evenly and more strongly acuminate, the band therefore resembling a saw. — In ''boabdil'' Rbr. (43c) the band, above, is so shaded with smoke colour as to resemble the ground and almost to disappear in the same, only the apical ocellus with very feeble vestiges of the band being more distinct; Spain. — As ''obscura'' (43c) Ribbe sent me specimens from Andalusia which are quite black above and very vividly marmorated beneath. — Larva bone-colour, with a red-yellow dorsal-stripe in which there is a thin dark line, a yellow side-stripe and feeble, hardly visible, longitudinal hues; till June on Festuca. The butterflies from July till September, the various forms in some places flying together, being separated in other districts, common on lime-stone mountains, in the whole of South Europe, from Portugal to Turkey and South Russia, everywhere at the Black Sea, eastwards to Saisan in the Altai (Rueckbeil). In Europe the species extends northwards as far as Alsatia, Baden, Hungary (ab. ''peszerensis'') and Galizia. The flight-places are often very distant from one another, being sterile hills and fallow-fields, especially on lime-stone.

Distribution and habitat

This species can be found as far west as

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

and as far eastward as south-west

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

and northern

. These butterflies prefer grassy and bushy areas, steppes and arid sparse woodlands, at an elevation of above sea level.

Biology

This species is

univoltine Voltinism is a term used in biology to indicate the number of broods or generations of an organism in a year. The term is most often applied to insects, and is particularly in use in sericulture, where silkworm varieties vary in their voltinism. ...

. The caterpillars overwinter in the first larval instar. The larvae feed on various grasses, including ''

Festuca ''Festuca'' (fescue) is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the grass family Poaceae (subfamily Pooideae). They are evergreen or herbaceous perennial tufted grasses with a height range of and a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on ...

'', '' Bromus erectus'', ''

Brachypodium pinnatum ''Brachypodium pinnatum'', the heath false brome or tor-grass, is a species of grass with a widespread distribution in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It typically grows in calcareous grassland, and reaches tall. The flowerhead is ...

'', ''

Cynosurus cristatus ''Cynosurus cristatus'', the crested dog's-tail, is a short-lived perennial grass in the family Poaceae, characterised by a seed head that is flat on one side. It typically grows in species rich grassland. It thrives in a variety of soil types ...

'', ''

Corynephorus canescens ''Corynephorus canescens'', common name grey hair-grass or gray clubawn grass, is a species of plants in the Poaceae, grass family, native to Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa but widely naturalized in North America. In the United Kingdo ...

'', ''

Dactylis ''Dactylis'' is a genus of Eurasian and North African plants in the bluegrass subfamily within the grass family. ''Dactylis'' is native to North Africa, they are found throughout the world, and are an invasive species. They are known in English ...

'' and ''

Poa ''Poa'' is a genus of about 570 species of Poaceae, grasses, native to the temperate regions of both hemispheres. Common names include meadow-grass (mainly in Europe and Asia), bluegrass (mainly in North America), tussock (some New Zealand spe ...

'' species. Adults are on wing from July to September.

Gallery

File: Arethusana arethusa MHNT CUT 2013 3 32 Villegailhenc male dorsal.jpg, Male, dorsal view File: Arethusana arethusa MHNT CUT 2013 3 32 Villegailhenc male ventral.jpg, Ventral view File:Arethusana arethusa - Rotbindiger Samtfalter.jpg, Illustration

References

External links

Vlindernet
* Paolo Mazzei, Daniel Morel, Raniero Panfil

* ttp://www.lepiforum.de/lepiwiki.pl?Arethusana_Arethusa Lepiforum.de Satyrini Butterflies of Europe Butterflies of Asia Butterflies of Africa Butterfly genera {{Satyrini-stub