Grayling (butterfly)

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Grayling
Female
Female
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
(unranked) Rhopalocera
Superfamily: Papilionoidea
Family: Nymphalidae
Subfamily: Satyrinae
Tribe: Satyrini
Subtribe: Satyrina
Genus: Hipparchia
Species: H. semele
Binomial name
Hipparchia semele
(Linnaeus, 1758)

The Grayling (Hipparchia semele) is a species in the brush-footed butterfly family Nymphalidae. It sometimes occurs in coastal areas of northeast Scotland such as the Fowlsheugh Nature Reserve. It can also be found near the coast around England, such as Fire Beacon Hill. This species is often associated with bare ground and rocky hills.

They rest with closed wings, forewings lowered between the hindwings as do many Saturninae. When disturbed, they raise the forewing so that the large eyespots bnear its apex become visible. A predator attacking the butterfly could either be startled by the sudden appearance of the pattern, or be enticed into attacking the conspicuous spot rather than the butterfly's body.(Stevens 2005)

It is now a UK BAP species.

Contents

[edit] Diet

[edit] Habitats

Coast,dunes, saltmarsh, undercliffs, clifftops, dry heathland, calcareous grassland, old quarries, earthworks, derelict old spoil heaps,open woodland on stony ground,dry and well-drained soil, with sparse vegetation and plenty of bare ground in open sunny positions.

[edit] Lifecycle

  • Egg 15 July to 21 September
  • Larva 1 August to 21 June
  • Pupa 7 June to 7 August
  • Adult 1 to 14 June, and 7 to 21 July

Resting male in relaxed pose

Resting female in display pose

[edit] References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
  • Stevens, Martin (2005): The role of eyespots as anti-predator mechanisms, principally demonstrated in the Lepidoptera. Biol. Rev. 80(4): 573–588. doi:10.1017/S1464793105006810 (HTML abstract)
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