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''Argynnis pandora'', the cardinal, is a
butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprises ...
of the family
Nymphalidae 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 a redu ...
. It is common throughout southern Europe and is also found in northern Africa and the Middle east and then east across the
Palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is the largest of the eight biogeographic realms of the Earth. It stretches across all of Eurasia north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. The realm consists of several bioregions: the Euro-Si ...
to northwestern India.


Description in Seitz

The
wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan o ...
is 64–80 mm. ''A. pandora Schiff''. (= ''cinara'' F., ''maja'' Cr.) (71c). The largest European ''Argynnis''. Above strongly recalling ''valesina'', but brighter greenish, densely spotted with black. Beneath quite different, the apex of the forewing and the hindwing bright green, the disc of the forewing fleshy red and spotted with deep black, the hindwing with a few narrow bands, which are more white than silvery and vary strongly in number and development.


Biology

The butterfly flies from April to SeptemberRowlings, Matt. http://www.eurobutterflies.com/species_pages/pandora.htm. Accessed 1 January 2013. (in Europe typically May to August) depending on the location. In Switzerland, the species is found at altitudes of up to 2600 meters. Among other habitats, it favours deciduous and open pine forests, in which there is a large supply of nectar-rich plants from the genera ''
Cirsium ''Cirsium'' is a genus of perennial and biennial flowering plants in the Asteraceae, one of several genera known commonly as thistles. They are more precisely known as plume thistles. These differ from other thistle genera (''Carduus'', ''Silyb ...
'' , ''
Carduus ''Carduus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, and the tribe Cardueae, one of two genera considered to be true thistles, the other being ''Cirsium''. Plants of the genus are known commonly as plumeless thistles.
'' or ''
Centaurea ''Centaurea'' () is a genus of over 700 species of herbaceous thistle-like flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. Members of the genus are found only north of the equator, mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere; the Middle East and surrounding reg ...
''. The larvae feed on ''
Viola ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...
'' species. Argynnis pandora MHNT CUT 2013 3 23 Teruel Male Dorsal.jpg, Male Argynnis pandora MHNT CUT 2013 3 23 Teruel Male Ventral.jpg, Male underside Argynnis pandora MHNT CUT 2013 3 23 Teruel Female Dorsal.jpg, Female Argynnis pandora MHNT CUT 2013 3 23 Teruel Female Ventral.jpg, Female underside


References


External links


Matt Rowling's European Butterflies
Argynnis Butterflies of Europe Butterflies described in 1775 {{Heliconiinae-stub