Meadow Fritillary (Mellicta parthenoides)
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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| 7546_male_Alpes Maritimes_26Jun07 | 7768_male_Alpes de Haute Provence_2Jul07 | 17319_female_Alpes Maritimes_06Jul09 |
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| 05_28-16_male_Dordogne_30Jul05 | 05_14-03_pair_Alpes de Haute Provence_4Jun05 | 05_15-33_female_Alpes de Haute Provence_4Jun05 |
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| 18678_male_Savoie_15Jul09 | 9159_female_Dordogne_14Aug07 |
There is a group of fritillaries – including the Heath (M. athalia), Provencal (M. dejone), False Heath (Melitaea diamina), as well as the scarcer Nickerl's (M. aurelia) and the Alpine Grisons (M. varia), which can all look very similar and are quite difficult to tell apart, especially with so many subspecies and local variants. The key differentiators for parthenoides are that the upf linear discal mark in s1b is oblique for the male (not necessarily the female) parthenoides c.f. Heath Fritillary (M. athalia), and the uph discal line is missing or incomplete producing a “gap” where the black lines are usually (but not always) complete in athalia. The male is bright orange and the female is larger and a little deeper orange sometimes with some colour variation between the bands. The black markings are regular with delicate lines and striae, slightly heavier in the female, making a reticulate pattern.
The word "Meadow" in the name is rather misleading as, although it does occur in lowland areas, it is equally at home at (very) high altitudes. Even though there are meadows at high altitudes, the name rather conjures up images of a low altitude species.
7546: classic male parthenoides, although nothing like the illustration in T&L. The constant orange colouring, the heavily oblique upf s1 discal mark are sure pointers, and the extended forewing shape is something that I tend to associate only with this species. Altitude 1080m.
7768: a male. The upf s1 discal mark is quite heavy and not totally straight, but is clearly oblique. The uph discal line is entirely missing, although I have seen athalia with this. One forewing is slightly folded back, which I have noted on parthenoides and not on many of its cousins. Is it characteristic? Altitude 1800m.
17319: I believe this to be a female parthenoides but would not rule out female varia, of which I have no experience. I also got a photo of the underside, on which my ID is largely based. Comment invited. Altitude 1700m.
05_28-16: I'm not 100% sure about this, as the upf discal s1 mark is not obviously oblique (the camera angle doesn't help) and the uph discal line is present albeit faint. The orange-ness and strong black borders tend to strongly indicate parthenoides.
05_14-03: The courting pair, female on the left. The female still looks very orange to me, even allowing for the poor quality of the photo.
05_15-33: could this be a female varia? It was seen north of Digne in the first week of June at around 1200m, probably a bit early for varia and at the lower end of the altitude range, although at the western end of its range. At the time, I had never seen a female varia but it does seem to match the illustrations in T&L and in both Lafranchis books. The upf discal mark in s1b seems to match the characteristic varia mark (is this outside edge vertical?). It was only the pair of parthenoides in
05_14-03 (female on the left), which were only metres away, that made me wonder. Could 05_14-03 and 05_15-32 BOTH be female parthenoides?
18678: a male, dining on a sheep "crotte" at high altitude in the Alps. The heavy black uhf markings and pronounced marginal lunules tend to query parthenoides, but the unh lunules are shallow and the post-discal series of white spots are quite rounded, both of which point to parthenoides, as I understand it. I also have a photo of the upperside which seems to confirm parthenoides. Altitude 2000m.
9159: a female. The Mellicta species can be very difficult to identify on the basis of undersides alone, as many of the complex unh markings are quite variable. I did see the upperside of 9159 which helps ID. Also the unf is almost completely visible and the plain orange colouring and relative lack of black markings indicate female parthenoides. Altitude 70m.
7546_male_Alpes Maritimes_26Jun07
7768_male_Alpes de Haute Provence_2Jul07
17319_female_Alpes Maritimes_06Jul09
05_14-03_pair_Alpes de Haute Provence_4Jun05
05_28-16_male_Dordogne_30Jul05
05_15-33_female_Alpes de Haute Provence_4Jun05
