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Lasiommata megera

Lasiommata megera

(Linnaeus, 1767)
Megera

Family: Nymphalidae
Order: Lepidoptera
Class: Insecta
Phylum / Division: Arthropoda
Kingdom: Animalia

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Description


Lasiommata megera, the wall or wall brown, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae (subfamily Satyrinae). It is widespread in the Palearctic realm with a large variety of habitats and number of generations a year.

 P. megera L. [— xiphie Boisd. pt (45d). Above reddish yellow, with a black mark which traverses the distal band from the cell of the forewing to the abdominal margin of the hindwing, short black stripes crossing the disc and the cell of the forewing.

Range: The species lives in North Africa, Europe, the Caucasus, Asia Minor, the Middle East, western Siberia, northern Tian Shan, Dzungarian Alatau, Kazakhstan and Dzungaria.

Habitats: Habitats include forest edges and clearings, shrubby areas in ravines and river valleys and sparse woodlands. It is also found in mountain habitats up to above sea level.

Life history: The imago flies from April to October in two or three generations depending on locality and altitude. The larva feeds on grasses in the genera Festuca, Bromus, Deschampsia, Poa, Dactylis and Brachypodium.

"The egg is pale green when first laid, and in shape it is almost spherical, but rather higher than broad; it is finely ribbed and reticulated, but unless examined through a lens it appears to be quite smooth. The caterpillar when full grown is whitish-green, dotted with white. From the larger of these dots on the back arise greyish bristles; the three lines on the back (dorsal and sub-dorsal) are whitish, edged with dark green; the line on the sides (spiracular) is white, fringed with greyish hairs; anal points green, hairy, extreme tips white. Head larger than the first ring (first thoracic segment), green dotted with white and hairy, jaws marked with brownish. The chrysalis is green, with yellow-tinted white markings on the edge of the wing covers and ridges; the spots on the body are yellowish, or sometimes white. Occasionally the chrysalids are blackish, with white or yellow points on the body". (South 1906)

Subspecies: 
  • L. m. megera
  • L. m. vividissima
  • L. m. megerina (Herrich-Schäffer, 1856) – Transcaucasia
  • L. m. transcaspica (Staudinger, 1901) – Turkmenia


Size: Size:

Source: Wikipedia, article Lasiommata megera. Content adapted from Wikipedia, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license. Accessed on 16/07/2026.





Geographic distribution


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Species photographs

Count: 3

Foto
Photography ID: 511807
 
El Prat del Llobregat
Barcelona
Spain
10/05/2022
Hugo Caverzasi
Foto
Photography ID: 222774
  Adult

Castelraimondo
Macerata
Italy
09/07/2017
Silvio Lamothe


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Species records

Count: 3



Page 1 of 1
Record IDDateExact timeCountryProvince / departmentPlaceFilmedPhotographedRecorded vocalObservedHeardWounded or deadNumber of individualsUser or BibliographyDetail
166318405/10/2022SpainBarcelonaEl Prat del LlobregatHugo Caverzasi
80065308/07/2018SpainBarcelonaReserva Natural Delta del LlobregatPablo Sanchez
62610607/09/2017ItalyMacerataCastelraimondoSilvio Lamothe
Page 1 of 1

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Recommended citation
Please use the following reference when citing this species account.
EcoRegistros. 2026. Lasiommata megera – Species account. Accessed from www.ecoregistros.org on 15/09/2026.