Nymphalidae : Satyrinae
Small Heath
COENONYMPHA pamphilus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Subspecies
C.p.rhoumensis Harrison, 1948-Isle of Rhum
Small Heath
COENONYMPHA pamphilus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Subspecies
C.p.rhoumensis Harrison, 1948-Isle of Rhum
Life Cycle Guide
Description
Wingspan: Male-22-29mm : Female-23-33mm
Worldwide Distribution: Palaearctic Region : North West Africa : Europe-(except extreme northern areas,Canary Islands,Azores,Madeira,most of South East Aegean Islands,Crete and Cyprus) : Temperate and sub tropical parts of West and Central Asia.
UK Distribution: Widespread in Britain and Ireland
UK Conservation Status -
Flight period: Scotland and Northern England-Mid June-Mid August-Univoltine : North & Centre of range-Mid May-Mid September-Tivoline in good years : Southern areas of range-Late February-November(Africa)-Trivoltine-Late April-October-Europe,Asia minor,Transcaucasia and Near East-Trivoltine.
Habitat: Grassland : Downland : Heathland : Coastal Dunes : Roadside Verges : Woodland Rides : Waste Ground : Moorland : Parks : Gardens.
Ovum: The flattened pudding shaped egg of the Small Heath is rather large for this butterfly and in young females larger than in older females.The egg is green but eventually turns yellow and are deposited singly on to a suitable grass blade.The ovum stage lasts for about two weeks by which time the ovum has turned pale and freckled.
Larva: The young larva tend to live at the lower levels of the sward on young tufts of grass where it emerges at night to feed by eating the young grass tips.The caterpillar hibernates towards the latter instar stage although earlier instars are known to enter this stage.They resume feeding in the spring.
Pupa: By April the first of the green chrysalis with dark streaks are formed beneath a grass stem usually hatching by mid-May.
Overwinters as: Larva
Observations: This small butterfly prefers areas of grassland where there are fine grasses in well drained,dry situations where the sward is short and sparse.
The Small Heath flies low to the ground, and when disturbed usually flies forwards before returning to its previous resting position which is never more than a metre off the ground and always with its wings closed.
Usually when coming to rest the butterfly shows off its forewing underside spot which like many other butterflies protects the abdomen from attacks by birds, usually losing only a portion of its wings. During long rests or roosting this forewing is closed as seen in photo 3 below.
With it's overlapping broods the Small Heath can be seen any time between April and October in the south of England on sites such as heathland of the New Forest as its name suggest, to the grassland habitats in Hampshire such as Old Winchester Hill and Noar Hill.
Worldwide Distribution: Palaearctic Region : North West Africa : Europe-(except extreme northern areas,Canary Islands,Azores,Madeira,most of South East Aegean Islands,Crete and Cyprus) : Temperate and sub tropical parts of West and Central Asia.
UK Distribution: Widespread in Britain and Ireland
UK Conservation Status -
- NERC S.41 : 2008 (England) & NERC S.42 : 2009 (Wales) - Species "of principle importance for the purpose of conserving biodiversity
- Northern Ireland - Priority Species : 2010
- Near Threatened - Butterfly Red List for Great Britain 2010
- BAP : 2007 - Priority Species
- Least Concern
- Papilio pamphilus (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Papilio geticus Esper 1789
- Sweden
Flight period: Scotland and Northern England-Mid June-Mid August-Univoltine : North & Centre of range-Mid May-Mid September-Tivoline in good years : Southern areas of range-Late February-November(Africa)-Trivoltine-Late April-October-Europe,Asia minor,Transcaucasia and Near East-Trivoltine.
Habitat: Grassland : Downland : Heathland : Coastal Dunes : Roadside Verges : Woodland Rides : Waste Ground : Moorland : Parks : Gardens.
Ovum: The flattened pudding shaped egg of the Small Heath is rather large for this butterfly and in young females larger than in older females.The egg is green but eventually turns yellow and are deposited singly on to a suitable grass blade.The ovum stage lasts for about two weeks by which time the ovum has turned pale and freckled.
Larva: The young larva tend to live at the lower levels of the sward on young tufts of grass where it emerges at night to feed by eating the young grass tips.The caterpillar hibernates towards the latter instar stage although earlier instars are known to enter this stage.They resume feeding in the spring.
Pupa: By April the first of the green chrysalis with dark streaks are formed beneath a grass stem usually hatching by mid-May.
Overwinters as: Larva
Observations: This small butterfly prefers areas of grassland where there are fine grasses in well drained,dry situations where the sward is short and sparse.
The Small Heath flies low to the ground, and when disturbed usually flies forwards before returning to its previous resting position which is never more than a metre off the ground and always with its wings closed.
Usually when coming to rest the butterfly shows off its forewing underside spot which like many other butterflies protects the abdomen from attacks by birds, usually losing only a portion of its wings. During long rests or roosting this forewing is closed as seen in photo 3 below.
With it's overlapping broods the Small Heath can be seen any time between April and October in the south of England on sites such as heathland of the New Forest as its name suggest, to the grassland habitats in Hampshire such as Old Winchester Hill and Noar Hill.
Subspecies
C. p.pamphilus Linnaeus, 1758-Found throughout its range, excluding Isle of Rhum
C. p.pamphilus Linnaeus, 1758-Found throughout its range, excluding Isle of Rhum
Larval Food Plants Worldwide
Note - Plants hyperlinked in red below take the visitor to the relevant plant page on"Plants for a Future" website
where further information like photos,physical
characteristics,habitats,edible uses,medicinal
uses,cultivation,propagation,range,height etc. are clearly listed.
- Plant Families - in bold red below takes the visitor to the relevant "Lepi-plants" page where other butterflies & moths using the plants below are listed.
- Poaceae - Gramineae - True Grasses Family
- Anthoxanthum odoratum - Sweet vernal grass
- Cynodon dactylon - Bermuda Grass
- Cynosurus cristatus - Crested Dog's-tail
- Dactylis glomerata - Cock's-foot - Orchard grass
- Deschampsia cespitosa - Tufted hair-grass - Tussock grass
- Deschampsia flexuosa - Wavy Hair-grass
- Festuca ovina - Sheep's fescue
- Festuca pratensis - Meadow Fescue
- Festuca rubra - Red Fescue - Creeping Red Fescue
- Nardus stricta - Mat Grass - Moor Matgrass
- Poa annua - Annual Meadow Grass
- Anthoxanthum odoratum - Sweet vernal grass
Larval Food Plants
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Taxonomy
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Kingdom:
Subkingdom: Phylum: Subphylum Class: Order: Superfamily: Family: Subfamily: Tribe: Genus: Accepted Species Name: Type Species - COENONYMPHA: Original Species Name: Species Names: Literary Ref: Type Locality: Forms/Aberrations: Subspecies: |
Animalia
Eumetozoa Arthropoda Hexapoda Insecta Lepidoptera Papilionoidea Nymphalidae Satyrinae Coenonymphini COENONYMPHA Hübner, [1819] Coenonympha pamphilus (Linnaeus, 1758) - Papilo geticus Esper, 1789 - PAPILIO pamphilus (Linnaeus, 1758) = Papilio lyllus Esper, 1806 = Satyridae triphysa Zeller 1850 = Coenonympha chortobius Dunning & Pickard 1858 = Coenonympha bipunctata Gussich, 1917 - Syst. Nat. (Edn 10) 1 : Title page : p.472 n.86 - Sweden - C.p. alba Prüffer, 1920 C.p. albata Goodson, 1955 C.p. albescens Robson & Gardner, 1886 C.p. anticastanea Leeds, 1950 C.p. anticrassipuncta Leeds, 1950 C.p. antilacticolor Leeds, 1950 C.p. antirufa Leeds, 1950 C.p. brunnescens Leeds, 1950 C.p. detersa Verity, 1913 C.p. major Agassiz, 1900 C.p. nolkeniana Strand, 1917 C.p. obsoletissima Leeds, 1950 C.p. ocellata Tutt, 1896 C.p. transiens Caruel, 1944 C.p.lyllus Esper, 1806 - C.p.marginata Heyne, 1894 C.p.fulvolactea Verity 1926 C.p.centralasiae Verity 1926 C.p.infrarasa Verity 1926 C.p.juldusica Verity 1926 C.p.ferghana Stauder 1924 C.p.nitidissima Verity 1924 C.p.asiaemontium Verity 1924 C.p.rhoumensis Harrison 1948-Inner Hebrides C.p.pamphilus Linnaeus, 1758-Found throughout its range, excluding Isle of Rhum C.p.rhoumensis Harrison, 1948-Isle of Rhum |