Melanargia galathea, the marbled white, is a medium-sized butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. The marbled white was described in 1666 by C Merrett, and in 1695 James Petiver found a specimen in a wood near Hampstead and called it Papilio leucomelanus, our half-Mourner, to distinguish it from the Bath White, which Vernon (1702) had called the half-Mourner. It was also known as The Marmoris by Benjamin Wilkes and The Marmoress by Moses Harris. The butterfly was, also described in 1758, by the Swedish biologist and physician, Carl Linnaeus who formalised binomial nomenclature. Despite its common name and appearance, this butterfly is one of the "browns", of the subfamily Satyrinae.

This species can be found across most of Europe, southern Russia, Asia Minor and Iran. It is found in forest clearings and edges, meadows and steppe where it occurs up to above sea level. The caterpillars feed on various grasses.

Description

thumb|160px|right|Illustration of egg, larva and pupa

Melanargia galathea has a wingspan of .

In these medium-sized butterflies the upper side of the wings is decorated with white and gray-black or dark brown markings, but it is always gray-black or dark brown checkered in the basal and distal areas. The underside is similar to the upper side but the drawings is light gray or light brown. On the underside of the hindwings is present a row of gray eye spots. The males and the females are quite similar, except that some females may have a yellowish nuance on the underside of the wings. Seitz - M. galathea. In the otherwise black cell of both wing an oval white spot which is not divided by a transverse bar. On the hindwing above the ocelli are quite invisible or shine through very faintly from the underside. On a good site, in warm, sunny weather, thousands can be seen gently fluttering amongst the grass heads.

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(MHNT) Melanargia galathea - Foret de Bouconne, France - male dorsal.jpg|♂

(MHNT) Melanargia galathea - Foret de Bouconne, France - male ventral.jpg|♂ △

(MHNT) Melanargia galathea - Tarabel, France - female dorsal.jpg|♀

(MHNT) Melanargia galathea - Tarabel, France - female ventral.jpg|♀ △

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Life cycle

Ova

Eggs are laid on the wing, or from brief perches on various grass stems, and are just sprinkled among the grass stems. These include Timothy (Phleum pratense), annual meadow grass (Poa annua), rough meadow-grass (P. trivalis), red fescue (Festuca rubra), upright brome (Bromus erectus), tor-grass (Brachypodium pinnatum), common bent (Agrostis capillaris), couch grasses (Elymus syn. Elytrigia), soft-grasses (Holcus species), cocksfoot grasses (Dactylis species), wheat (Triticum species) and wheatgrass (Agropyron species).

Pupae

Pupation takes place at ground level in a loose cocoon. Adults can be found from early June to early September.

  • Melanargia galathea galathea Europe, southern Urals
  • Melanargia galathea donsa <small>Fruhstorfer, 1916</small> Caucasus
  • Melanargia galathea lucasi <small>(Rambur, 1858)</small> North Africa
  • Melanargia galathea magdalenae <small>Reichl, 1975</small>
  • Melanargia galathea procida <small>(Herbst, 1796)</small>
  • Melanargia galathea satnia <small>Fruhstorfer, 1917</small> (= njurdzhan <small>Sheljuzhko</small>) Caucasus Major and Minor
  • Melanargia galathea tenebrosa <small>Fruhstorfer, 1917</small>

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(MHNT) Melanargia galathea magdalenae - Montereale Valcellina Italie - female dorsal.jpg| Melanargia galathea magdalenae ♀

(MHNT) Melanargia galathea magdalenae - Montereale Valcellina Italie - female ventral.jpg| Melanargia galathea magdalenae ♀ △

(MHNT) Melanargia galathea procida - Lago Di Cavazzo Frioul Italia - male dorsal.jpg|Melanargia galathea procida ♂

(MHNT) Melanargia galathea procida - Lago Di Cavazzo Frioul Italia - male ventral.jpg|Melanargia galathea procida ♂ △

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Marbled white (Melanargia galathea) male form procida Slivnica.jpg|male form procida

Marbled white (Melanargia galathea) female form procida Istria.jpg|female form procida

Marbled white (Melanargia galathea) male form procida underside Predjama.jpg|male form procida underside

Marbled white (Melanargia galathea) form procida female underside Istria.jpg|female form procida underside

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Habitat

It is found in forest clearings and edges, meadows and steppe where it occurs up to 1,500-1,700&nbsp;m above sea level.