False Heath Fritillary (Melitaea diamina)
2009 photos highlighted in yellow. Click on any photo to go to an enlarged picture, or simply scroll down the page.
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| 7488_male_Alpes Maritimes_25Jun07 | 7566_male_Alpes Maritimes_26Jun07 | 12775_male_Isere_11Jul08 |
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| 03_03-10A_male_Ariege_Jun03 - form vernetensis | 03_03-11A_male_Ariege_Jun03 - form vernetensis | 17421_sex?_Hautes Alpes_07Jul09 |
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| 7522_female_Alpes Maritimes_26Jun07 | 12487_male_Isere_10Jul08 | 18436_male_Isere_13Jul09 |
A very attractive and rather variable fritillary, usually (but not always) found at altitude. It is easily recognised because the uph black/dark brown has almost completely smothered the orange, reducing the orange to a series of disconnected spots mainly in the submarginal and post-discal areas. Darker specimens can look quite black in flight. It can vary in terms of size and shape, it seems to me, and can often be quite small.
7488: a small and heavily marked male, although averagely marked. Altitude 1080m.
7566: a male, in typical territorial pose, ready to see off all-comers. The darker areas are almost black, quite apparent in flight, contrasting well with the few bright orange marks. Altitude 1080m.
12775: a VERY dark male, although the dark uph is set off by the white margins. Altitude 1120m.
03_03-10A: this shot was taken in the Pyrenees and I think it must be diamina; the new Lafranchis book carries an illustration of the diamina form vernetensis from the Eastern Pyrenees, and this matches it exactly - the key-shaped discal spot in s1b of the upf is characteristic.
03_03-11A: another male of the Pyrenean form vernetensis, perhaps looking rather more recognisable as diamina on the basis of the heavy uph markings.
17421: a high altitude melanic aberration, very dark even by diamina standards. However, that concave forewing margin does not look like diamina. Comment invited. Altitude 1750m.
7522: a female, larger and generally lighter than most males. It looks very much like a dark Heath Fritillary (Mellicta athalia) although on balance I believe it to be diamina. Altitude 1080m.
12487: the underside is usually characterised by the discrete dark centres to the unh post-discal series of spots, but this is very murky and not at all distinctive. However, it has to be diamina, and a male, I think. The yellow-filled unh marginal band is strongly indicative. Altitude 1120m.
18436: a male, not unlike 12487 in that the unh post-discal spots are faint unfilled circles rather than the solid black dots normal of diamina. Altitude 1120m.
7488_male_Alpes Maritimes_25Jun07
7566_male_Alpes Maritimes_26Jun07
17421_sex?_Hautes Alpes_07Jul09
7522_female_Alpes Maritimes_26Jun07
