LEPIDOPTERA

• N Y M P H A L I D A E Swainson, 1827

  • INACHIS Hubner, 1818

    
    

    • Inachis io (Linnaeus, 1758)

Inachis io (Linnaeus, 1758)

•TYPE LOCALITY. [Sweden].

• RANGE. Temperate belt of the Palaearctic Region.

•SYNONYMS: loides (Ochsenheimer, 1807); geisha (Stichel, [1908]); caucasica (Jachontov, 1911).

• DISTRIBUTION AND VARIATION. European part, Siberia. Transbaikalia, N. Tian-Shan, Dzhungarsky Alatau Mts., Altais, Sayan, Caucasus Major, Amur and Ussuri regions. Variation little. This is an active migrant, with division into subspecies obviously unwarranted.

• HABITATS AND BIOLOGY. Common in open landscapes in the forest and forest-steppe belts, including parks, gardens and agricultural plantations. Flight period: July to September and, after hibernation, March to April. Eggs laid in large groups on leaves of Urtica dioica or, more rarely, Humulus lupiilus. Living in web nests until last larval instars. Pupation on stalks or leaves of nettle and in various shelters. Imago hibernating in different shelters, often in houses.

Photo and text: Guide to the BUTTERFLIES OF RUSSIA and adjacent territories Volume 2. PENSOFT, Sofia - Moscow. 2000