(Linnaeus, 1758)
Map
Description:
The Map is a common butterfly of woodland edges, coppices, hedgerows and wood banks. It has two generations a year, and the butterflies of the spring brood are predominantly orange, and those of the summer brood predominantly black on the upperside of the wings. In warm years, there may be a partial third brood that in colour is somewhere between the spring and summer form. The Map gets its name from the intricate pattern on the underside of its wings. These butterflies enjoy basking in the sun with their wings wide open, often on the ground. The Map has a dainty floating flight, but it settles again quite quickly. The food plants are Common Nettle (Urtica dioica) and Small Nettle (U. urens).
The eggs are deposited in short chains on the underside of the nettle leaves and look very much like threaded pearls. The caterpillar is black with red-brown spines, and two prominent spines or "horns" on its head capsule, absent in the caterpillar of the Peacock (Inachis io). The caterpillars are gregarious, but do not spin a nest. They pupate on the food plants, and pass the winter as a chrysalis.
Habitat:
Mixed woodland
Urban parks and gardens
Deciduous forests
Similar species:
Unmistakable