Pyrgus malvae (Linnaeus, 1758)


Pyrgus malvae: Adult (Swabian Alb, Southern Germany) [N] Pyrgus malvae: Female (eastern Swabian Alb, S-Germany, Söhnstetten, May 2013) [N] Pyrgus malvae: Female (eastern Swabian Alb, Söhnstetten, May 2013) [N] Pyrgus malvae: Adult (eastern Swabian Alb, Dischingen, late May 2013) [N] Pyrgus malvae: Adult (eastern Swabian Alb, Dischingen, late May 2013) [N] Pyrgus malvae: Mating (eastern Swabian Alb) [N] Pyrgus malvae: Mating (eastern Swabian Alb) [N] Pyrgus malvae: Mating. The animals stimulate themselves not only by rubbing of the hind legs (pheromon hair tufts in male hind legs), but the female also positionates its hind legs on the male anal hair tufts. [N] Pyrgus malvae: Male [N] Pyrgus malvae: Male (eastern Swabian Alb, Southern Germany) [N] Pyrgus malvae: Portrait [N] Pyrgus malvae: Female (eastern Swabian Alb, Southern Germany, June 2010) [N] Pyrgus malvae: Adult (Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany, May 2012) [N] Pyrgus malvae: Adult upper side (Germany, Swabian Alb) [N] Pyrgus malvae: Lower side (Swabian Alb, Southern Germany) [N] Pyrgus malvae: Lower side (Swabian Alb, Southern Germany) [N] Pyrgus malvae: Adult lower side [N] Pyrgus malvae: Ovum (eastern Swabian Alb) [M] Pyrgus malvae: Ovum (detail, eastern Swabian Alb) [M] Pyrgus malvae: Ovum (detail, eastern Swabian Alb) [M] Pyrgus malvae: Ovum (eastern Swabian Alb, Southern Germany) [N] Pyrgus malvae: Ovum prior to hatching (head capsule visible) [S] Pyrgus malvae: L1 [S] Pyrgus malvae: Young larva (e.o. eastern Swabian Alb) [S] Pyrgus malvae: Half-grown larva (eastern Swabian Alb) [S] Pyrgus malvae: Half-grown larva (eastern Swabian Alb) [M] Pyrgus malvae: Half-grown larva (eastern Swabian Alb) [M] Pyrgus malvae: Larva after the last moult (eastern Swabian Alb) [S] Pyrgus malvae: Larva in last instar (Swabian Alb, Southern Germany) [S] Pyrgus malvae: Larva [S] Pyrgus malvae: Fully-grown larva in defense posture (mandibels spread) [S] Pyrgus malvae: Larva prior to pupation (redbrown discoloured) [S] Pyrgus malvae: Shelter at Agrimonia eupatoria (eastern Swabian Alb) [N] Pyrgus malvae: Shelter at Agrimonia (detail) [N] Pyrgus malvae: Pupa (e.l. Swabian Alb, Southern Germany) [S] Pyrgus malvae: Pupa (e.l. Swabian Alb, Southern Germany) [S] Pyrgus malvae: Pupa dorsal (dark form, e.l. eastern Swabian Alb) [S] Pyrgus malvae: Pupa (light form, e.l. eastern Swabian Alb) [S] Pyrgus malvae: Pupa lateral [S] Pyrgus malvae: Larval habitat: higher growing area in a nutrient-poor limestone grassland with Agrimonia eupatoria on the eastern Swabian Alb [N]

Host plants:
The eggs are deposited on mostly herbaceous Rosaceae like Potentilla, Agrimonia, Sanguisorba, Filipendula, Fragaria and occasionally also Rubus.

Habitat:
Pyrgus malvae colonizes open places like clearings, sunny forest edges, fens, nutrient-poor and dry grasslands, large embankments etc. The eggs are deposited from little above the ground to several decimeters in height (e.g. Meadowsweet, Filipendula ulmaria), so that there is no special microclimatic claim. In other words, in lower altitudes the Central European growing season suffices also in microclimatically less favoured locations for the successful development and Pyrgus malvae shows no exclusive fixation on hot dry conditions.

Life cycle:
Hibernation takes place in the pupal stage and the adult flies from late March to early July, especially on mountains even later. Very rarely a few individuals of a partial second generation emerge between late July and September. But late appearing adults from overwintered pupae fly at least until the beginning of July, maybe even later, so that the late-flying butterflies do not always necessarily have to belong to a second generation. The caterpillars live until September in webbed shelters on the plant. For pupation the last shelter is always left and a new one created in the litter.

Endangerment: regionally endangered or decreasing

Endangerment factors:
Within the genus Pyrgus this species is less endangered due to its relative adaptability. But the butterfly is missing in the entire intensively managed agricultural land, the entire human settlement area and in the dense, dark, unfortunately today usual forests (timber fields).

Remarks:
Pyrgus malvae occurs from northern France through Central Europe and Southern England to Eastern and Southeastern Europe. In the southwest it is replaced by the closely related taxon Pyrgus malvoides. The border runs through the center of France, Switzerland, Austria to the Upper Bavarian Alps. From there it turns south to the Adriatic Sea (Istria). Thus further south in the Balkans, including Greece, only Pyrgus malvae occurs. In addition, parts of temperate Asia to China and Korea are colonized.
In the mountains (Alps) higher altitudes are settled only sporadically and at low density in contrast to Pyrgus malvoides.

Hints on determination:
Pyrgus malvae is easily recognized because of the small size, the characteristic spots on hind wing upper side and the often reddish hind wing underside with its lighter veins. But in the overlapping area with Pyrgus malvoides only genital section results in proper determination.



Pyrgus accretus | Pyrgus alveus | Pyrgus andromedae | Pyrgus armoricanus | Pyrgus bellieri | Pyrgus cacaliae | Pyrgus carlinae | Pyrgus carthami | Pyrgus centaureae | Pyrgus cinarae | Pyrgus cirsii | Pyrgus malvoides | Pyrgus onopordi | Pyrgus serratulae | Pyrgus sidae | Pyrgus warrenensis