Hesperiidae : Pyrginae
False Mallow Skipper
CARCHARODUS tripolina (Verity, 1925)
False Mallow Skipper
CARCHARODUS tripolina (Verity, 1925)
Life Cycle Guide-Adult Only
Description
Wingspan: 26-34mm
Worldwide Distribution: Morocco : Algeria : Tunisia : Libya : S.W.Portugal(Algave) : S.W.Spain
European Conservation Status -
Flight Period: March-September-Polyvoline-Multiple broods per year
Habitat: Hot dry areas with succession of flowers available : Rocky Slopes & Paths : Rocky Gullies : Usually close to coast line.
Observations: In the S.W. Portuguese Algave in Alvor at the semi-nature reserve of "Quinta da Rocha" in September I found C.tripolinus where the vegetation was so parched it appeared dead, but also found the odd plant that seemed to self rejuvenate like the "Phoenix from the flames" giving the butterfly the necessary nectar to meet their requirements.
Just north of the estuary I found C.tripolina at the base of a steep rocky climb resting on dry grasses along a track adjacent (See photo 1) in the good company of Sage Skipper and Swallowtail.
Having photos of both C.alceae & C.tripolina it is clear they are indistinguishable from external appearance and can only be differentiated by the male genitalia dissection or site location, especially around the southern coasts of Spain and Portugal where False Mallow Skippers are located.
Worldwide Distribution: Morocco : Algeria : Tunisia : Libya : S.W.Portugal(Algave) : S.W.Spain
European Conservation Status -
- Least Concern - Only found along Mediterranean coast of SW Portugal & SW Spain-Exact distribution relative to C alceae uknown, possibly due to identification difficulties.
- Erynnis alceae tripolina Verity, 1925
- Papilio alceae (Esper , 1780)
- Libya-Garian Plateau
Flight Period: March-September-Polyvoline-Multiple broods per year
Habitat: Hot dry areas with succession of flowers available : Rocky Slopes & Paths : Rocky Gullies : Usually close to coast line.
Observations: In the S.W. Portuguese Algave in Alvor at the semi-nature reserve of "Quinta da Rocha" in September I found C.tripolinus where the vegetation was so parched it appeared dead, but also found the odd plant that seemed to self rejuvenate like the "Phoenix from the flames" giving the butterfly the necessary nectar to meet their requirements.
Just north of the estuary I found C.tripolina at the base of a steep rocky climb resting on dry grasses along a track adjacent (See photo 1) in the good company of Sage Skipper and Swallowtail.
Having photos of both C.alceae & C.tripolina it is clear they are indistinguishable from external appearance and can only be differentiated by the male genitalia dissection or site location, especially around the southern coasts of Spain and Portugal where False Mallow Skippers are located.
Photo Gallery
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.
- Malvaceaea - The Mallow Family
- Althaea officinalis - Marshmallow
- Malva sylvestris - Common Mallow
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 - CARCHARODUS: Original Species Name: Genus Group Names: Literary Ref: Type Locality: Subspecies: |
Animalia
Eumetozoa Arthropoda Hexapoda Insecta Lepidoptera Papilionoidea Hesperiidae Pyrginae Carcharodini CARCHARODUS Hübner, 1819 Carcharodus alceae Esper, 1780 - Papilio alceae (Esper , 1780) - Carcharodus tripolina Verity, 1925 = Erynnis alceae tripolina Verity, 1925 = Erynnis tripolinus auct. - CARCHARODUS Hübner 1819 = Syrichthus Boisduval 1834 - Entomologist Record & Journal of Variation : Title Page : Vol. 37 : p.54 - Garian plateau-Libya - C.a.tripolina Verity, 1925 |