Melanargia galathea – Marbled white

The species Melanargia galathea belongs to the family Nymphalidae. They are recognizable by their black-and-white colour of the upper side of the wings reminiscent of a chessboard, while the lower side features sub-marginal dots on the back wings.

The species is widespread in Europe, but it is also found in North Africa, Turkey, Armenia. It lives on wet meadows and often in colonies of up to hundreds of individuals. Larvae of this species eat leaves of the grass family (Poaceae): Stipa sp., Brachypodium sp.

The eggs hatch in larvae around mid-August and hibernate until the following spring in March. Adults are usually active in cloudy weather and in the afternoons. In the Galichica National Park they live on wet meadows at lower elevations.