Nutrition:
Plants and small insects.
Habitat:
Pholidoptera aptera inhabits mountainous woodland clearings, clearcuttings, dwarf shrub zones, gorges and forest-near pastures with higher vegetation (shrubs, ferns), forb communities and dense grasslands in the Alps and, rarely, in the northern foreland of the Alps. Most of the habitats are located between 800 and 1700m above sea level.
Life cycle:
The adults appear from July to October and the eggs overwinter at least twice in the litter layer, in the ground or more rarely in dead wood. In the morning you can sometimes watch numerous, often dewy individuals how they warm up on herbs, etc. in the morning sun.
Endangerment factors:
In the higher elevations, Pholidoptera aptera is not endangerd, but in the few places in the foothills it is pushed bach due to dark forest management and other reasons.
Remarks:
The total distribution extends mainly from the Massif Central across the Alps to south Eastern Europe (Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia).