Leptidea duponcheli (Staudinger, 1871)

Host plants:
The larva feeds in the first place on Onobrychis species (sainfoin). It remains to be studied if other Fabaceae like Vicia, Lathyrus or Coronilla are also used as host plants.

Habitat:
Leptidea duponcheli inhabits xerothermic, open or semi-open places like grasslands, pastures, open scrub, very open woodlands and similar places from the lowlands up to about 1500m in Europe.

Life cycle:
Leptidea duponcheli has probably most often two, occasionally in lower altitudes also three generations per year. In Greece, fresh butterflies of the characteristic first generation appear in the lowlands already in late March or April and may still fly in early June in altitudes above 1000 m (e.g. above Siatista in 2021, 1200m). The second generation is found from June to July or early August. Individuals of a partial third generation may occur from August. In higher altitudes there are also populations with only a single generation per year with butterflies in June/July. Oviposition takes place singly on the plants. Larval development is fast and needs only four larval stages (three moults). The belted pupa is usually suspended directly on the host plant, at least with non-hibernating pupae (rearing on potted plants).

Remarks:
Leptidea duponcheli occurs disjunct in southeastern France (Provence, southern Alps, eastern pre-Cevennes) and then again from the Balkans (Montenegro, Albania, Bulgaria) across Greece, the Crimea and Turkey to Iran, Libanon and Transcaucasia.

Hints on determination:
Leptidea duponcheli can be recognized especially in the spring generation by the colouration of hindwing underside. The tips of the antenna never shows white scales. But the only reliable character is the course of the axial vein on the inner margin of the forewing: it is always heavily flexed near the base of the wing in Leptidea duponcheli.