Meadow Brown
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Meadow Brown | |
|---|---|
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| Female | |
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| Mounted on a card | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Nymphalidae |
| Genus: | Maniola |
| Species: | M. jurtina |
| Binomial name | |
| Maniola jurtina (Linnaeus, 1758) |
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The Meadow Brown, Maniola jurtina, is a butterfly found in European meadows, where its larvae feed on grasses.
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There is some sexual dimorphism in this species. Males are less colourful, with smaller eyespots and much reduced orange areas on the upper forewings. They are also much more active and range far about, while females fly less and often may not away from the area where they grew up.
The evolutionary significance of the upperwing eyespots is probably attack deflection. Small, peripherally located eyespots act as attractors to deflect the attacks of predators to non-vital parts of the body.[1]
Food plants[change]
- Sheep's Fescue Festuca ovina
- Rough Meadow Grass Poa trivialis
- Smooth Meadow Grass Poa pratensis
