Wednesday, 15 February 2012
Wall Brown Butterfly
Scientific Name:
Lasiommata megera
Wingspan (mm):
45-53 Description
Upperwings open, reveal bright orange-yellow colouring with dark borders, veins and wavy crosslines becoming more dusky towards the body. Across each forewing, the male has a stripe of dark scent scales positioned diagonally . Both male and female have four obvious small eyespots on the low edge of each hindwing, together with a large black eyespot with a white pupil in the top corner of each forewing. The underside of the forewing is paler, with the hindwing pearl grey with brown zig/zag lines. The Wall is aptly named after its habit of basking on walls, rocks, and stony places. The delicately patterned light brown undersides provide good camouflage against a stony or sandy surface. In hot weather, males patrol fast and low over the ground, seeking out females. In cooler weather, they will bask in sunny spots and fly up to intercept females, or to drive off other males.
Distribution
Apart from the far north of England, high parts of the Pennines and Scotland where distribution is rare, the Wall Brown is a common butterfly throughout much of the British Isles. The butterfly has however declined since the mid 1980s and vanished from many of its former haunts.
Habitat
The Wall breeds in short, open grassland where the turf is broken or stony. It is found in dunes and other coastal habitats (including vegetated undercliffs and rocky foreshores) as well as disturbed land (including railway embankments and cuttings), disused quarries, derelict land, and gardens.
Diet
Various grasses are used, including Tor-grass, False Brome, Cock's-foot, bents, Wavy Hair-grass, and Yorkshire-fog.
Status
UK BAP status: Priority Species (for research only) Butterfly Conservation priority: high European threat status: not threatened
Did You Know?
The eyespots on the Wall Brown serve as a protection for the butterfly if it is attacked by birds. The damage caused when the wing is pecked will rarely prevent the butterfly from escaping.
Male Image
Female Image
