Muschampia proto (Ochsenheimer, 1808)

Host plants:
In S-France mostly Phlomis herba-venti, but also other Phlomis species (especially in Iberia) such as Phlomis lychnidis (e.g. Granada) and Ph. purpurea (e.g. near Almeria).

Habitat:
Muschampia proto occurs in hot, dry habitats such as rocky slopes, steppes, pastures, open areas in white oak bush or in the Maquis, garigues etc. The habitats are most often grazed.
The quite high growing host plants usually occur locally and in parties. In Provence, I found adults in the Crau, the Alpilles, the Luberon and the Massif la Sainte Baume, always xerotherm, partly heavily grazed sites up to a maximum of about 1000m above sea level, in Spain up to 1500m. Muschampia proto is usually most common in lowlands.

Life cycle:
The eggs are attached to the base of the food plant or stones, etc. In the case of Phlomis subshrubs the eggs are deposited on branches and stems, rarely evergreen leaves. The caterpillar overwinters in the egg (Nel 1985). The L1 larva is reddish brown 8different from M. alta) and proceeds to the onion-like protected youngest, most-inner leaves of tips of shoots. I observed young larvae commonly in early March 2022 in S-Spain (Cabo de Gata). As some already were half-grown, hatching must have started already in January-February.
I recorded half to fully-grown larvae in shelters of webbed leaves on the tips of the shoots of Phlomis herba-venti in the French Provence between mid and late May 2007. The flight time is much elongated (June to early or mid-October). Most individuals fly late and prior to mid-July apparently only a few adults are on the wing. In the Crau, I met newly hatched butterflies in late July/early Augusta at a few meters above sea level. From then on and in the whole month of August is the main flight period of this species.

The late flight time is achieved as in Pyrgus cirsii by a dormancy of the mature caterpillar. Around the beginning of June, it spins the later pupal cocoon (while Pyrgus cirsii obviously creates a new housing at the end of dormancy) between leaves of the host plant, usually a few decimeters above the ground (heat escape). Here it usually rests for one to two months (breeding observation), in order to pupate in July or even early August. The major emergence occurred in the breeding to the brink of July/August and correlates well with the field results.
The long and varying duration of the prepupal dormancy is the main reason for the long total flying time in this species. In the end of June 2008 I was able to verify this in Andalusia in the field (Sierra de Cazorla, Sierra de Huetor). I observed only a few adults, copulas and ovipositions (Phlomis herba-venti, Phlomis lychnidis). But I found a greater number of mature larvae in dormancy on Phlomis herba-venti. Some collected individuals resulted in butterflies not before mid to late August!
The males often patrol persistent along special markings in the terrain such as a path along a canal in the Crau.

Endangerment factors:
Muschampia proto is often spread only very locally (although most numerous at suitable sites) and threatened by the accidental destruction of narrow larval habitats. The main causes are overbuilding and intensification of use (irrigation, fertilization, conversion into fields, abandonment of grazing and following succession).

In Spain it is often still very common, except for heavy intensified agricultural regions.

Remarks:
Muschampia proto is found in Northwest Africa and in Europe only in the Iberian Peninsula and in southern France (to the north into the southern Massif Central). The very local populations in southern Italy including Sicily, as well as the more common ones in the southern Balkans (especially Albania, western, central and southern Greece) belong to the recently separated taxon Muschampia alta. The populations of Asia Minor including the Greek east Aegean islands, Iran and from S-Ukraine eastward finally belong to a third taxon Muschampia proteides.

Literature:
Hinojosa, J.C., Dapporto, L., Brockmann, E., Dincă, V., Tikhonov, V., Grishin, N., Lukhtanov, V.A. & R. Vila (2021): Overlooked cryptic diversity in Muschampia (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) adds two species to the European butterfly fauna. — Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2020, 20: 1–13.