''Muschampia lavatherae'', the marbled skipper, 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 ...

of the family

Hesperiidae Skippers are a group of butterflies placed in the family Hesperiidae within the order Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies). They were previously placed in a separate superfamily, Hesperioidea, but have since been placed in the superfamily Papilion ...

. It is found from the Rhine Rift Valley in central

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

up to

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

and from south-eastern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

up to

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

. The

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 ...

is 28–34 mm.

Description in Seitz

C. lavatherae Esp. (85 a). Yellowish grey or ash-colour; hindwing darker, with two rows of distinct, almost white, spots. Underside of hindwing with two small grey bands in the centre. — Southern Europe, North Africa, Syria, Armenia.

Biology

The butterfly gives one generation per year and flies from May to July depending on the location.Marbled Skipper at Butterfly Conservation Armenia
/ref> The larvae feed on ''

Stachys recta ''Stachys recta'', commonly known as stiff hedgenettle or perennial yellow-woundwort, is herbaceous perennial plant of the family Lamiaceae. Etymology The generic epithet is derived from the Greek word σταχυς (''stachys''), meaning "an ea ...

'' and '' Sideritis scordioides'' in Southern Europe. This species was formerly a member of the genus ''

Carcharodus ''Carcharodus'' is a Palearctic genus of skippers in the family Hesperiidae. In genomic research published in 2020, it was determined that six of the eight species in ''Carcharodus'' were more closely related to those in the genus ''Muschampia' ...

''. As a result of genomic research published in 2020, it was transferred to the genus ''

Muschampia ''Muschampia'' is a Palearctic genus of spread-winged skippers in the family Hesperiidae. Species These species belong to the genus ''Muschampia'': * ''Muschampia alta'' (Schwingenschuss, 1942) Southern Italy, Balkan Peninsula * ''Muschampia ...

''.

References

External links

Butterflies of Europe

Butterfly Conservation Armenia
Carcharodus Butterflies described in 1783 Butterflies of Europe Butterflies of Africa Taxa named by Eugenius Johann Christoph Esper {{Pyrginae-stub