(Linnaeus, 1761)
Scarce Heath
Description:
The Scarce Heath occurs in damp to wet grassy meadows in or at the edges of woods. Sometimes, they occur away from woods in drier places or in flower-rich grassland. The butterflies are fond of settling in grass, and do not fly far, nor very often. Among the grasses they use as food are Tufted Hair-grass (Deschampsia cespitosa), and Bearded Couch (Elymus caninus).
When half-grown, the caterpillar hibernates in a grass tussock, later also pupating there.
This species has one generation a year.
Habitat:
Mixed woodland
Mesophile grasslands
Humid grasslands
Deciduous forests
Similar species:
Coenonympha oedippus