Dusky Meadow Brown (hyponephele lycaon)
2008 photos highlighted green. Click on any photo to go to an enlarged picture, or simply scroll down the page.
|
|
|
|
| 3873_male_Alpes de Haute Provence_14Aug06 | 3914_female_Alpes de Haute Provence_15Aug06 | 3651_female_Alpes de Haute Provence_13Aug06 |
|
|
||
| 04_54-27_female_Alpes Maritimes_26Jul04 |
Lycaon is smaller and with slightly different markings to the ubiquitous Meadow Brown (maniola jurtina). One key to differentiating between them is the unh "roughness" - lycaon is quite speckled (H&R uses the archaic term "irrorated") and jurtina is quite smooth; this was pointed out to me by Matt Rowlings. It is very hard to differentiate between lycaon, which I find quite common at altitude from August onward, and the much scarcer Oriental Meadow Brown (H. lupina), which I'm unsure if I have seen (which means probably not). It is best to have a clear view of the upperside, but I have never found either to settle with wings open, even briefly. The depth of scalloping and generally "squarer" shape of the hindwing, more pronounced in the female of both species, is the best pointer toward lupina. I believe all of these to be lycaon. The unh varies quite greatly, and the contrast across the post-discal band is more pronounced in the female as in 04_54-27, but less so in 3914 (which is clearly female because of the two unf ocelli (the male does not have the lower ocellus), and virtually non-existent in 3651 which I saw clearly and the two ocelli confirmed it to be female. 3873 is, I'm fairly sure, a male.
Lycaon seems to me to be a butterfly of higher altitudes, unlike its much commoner cousin jurtina. I have never found it at less than 1000m, and mostly at altitudes considerably higher, up to 2000m.
3873: a male with the unh almost unmarked but clearly irrorated, with a small unf ocellus. Altitude 2000m.
3914: two ocelli are clearly visible (confirming female), the lower with no white centre, discal line very faint, both of the latter features suggest lupina, but again the outer edge of the hindwing is too rounded, and the relatively light scalloping point clearly to lycaon. Regarding the lower unf ocellus, the books show this as small and blind (i.e. with no white centre or "pupil") for female lupina, but larger and with a white centre for female lycaon. The ocelli of all species seem to vary quite substantially, so the ocelli can only be used as a definitive identifier where it is known to be so. Altitude 1800m.
3651: the absence of unh markings, especially a discal line, and the square hindwing corner at the anal angle suggest lupina, but the outer edge of the hindwing is too rounded. Altitude 1000m.
04_54-27: a female, quite distinctively marked.
3873_male_Alpes de Haute Provence_14Aug06
3914_female_Alpes de Haute Provence_15Aug06
3651_female_Alpes de Haute Provence_13Aug06
