(Scopoli, 1763)
Woodland Grayling
Description:
The Woodland Grayling is a butterfly of open woods that occurs on grassy vegetation, along woodland rides, and in woodland glades. The butterflies are fond of settling on tree trunks, head end up, where, with their wings tightly closed and the eye-spots hidden, they are very well camouflaged.
The eggs are laid on the blades of such grasses as fescues (Festuca spp.), false-bromes (Brachypodium spp.), and bromes (Bromus spp.). The caterpillars grow very slowly and, when they are half-grown, they hibernate in the litter layer. The caterpillar pupates in a little hollow in the ground, spinning itself a sort of cocoon.
The Woodland Grayling has one generation a year.
Habitat:
Dry siliceous grasslands
Deciduous forests
Similar species:
Hipparchia alcyone
Hipparchia syriaca
Brintesia circe