Wall Brown (Lasiommata megera (Linnaeus, 1767))
Scientific name: Lasiommata megera (Linnaeus, 1767)
Common name: Wall Brown
French name: Mégère, Satyre
Order: Lepidoptera
Suborder: Rhopalocera
Family: Nymphalidae
Subfamily: Satyrinae
Wingspan: 36-50 mm.
Biotope: Short grass places and stony places. Coastal dunes and rocky foreshores. Disused quarries, fallow lands, railway sides and gardens.
Geographic area: Western Europe, North to South Scandinavia, East to Iran, North Africa.
Flight time: March to mid June, then September to October.
Number of generations : 2
Caterpillar: Bright green-yellow with pale lines.
Host plant: Many grasses like Tor-grass (Brachypodium pinnatum), False Brome (Brachypodium sylvaticum), Cock's-foot (Dactylis glomerata), Bents (Agrostis spp.), Wavy Hair-grass (Deschampsia flexuosa), and Yorkshire-fog (Holcus lanatus).
The upper side of the Wall Brown's wings shows bright orange marks delimited by dark brown bands.
There is a large white-centred eyespot near the apex of the forewing.
The upper side of the hindwings shows several small eyespots.
The underside of the forewing is similar to the upper side.
The underside of the hindwings shows greyish-brown patterns with clearly visible eyespots.
Females are a brighter colour than males. They are usually larger than males..
You can often observe Wall Brown butterflies, landed on stones or walls, resting in the sunshine.
Wall Brown butterflies overwinter as caterpillars.

Wall Brown (Lasiommata megera) - Yvelines, France - July 29th 2006
[To know more about the Wall Brown]    [Next picture]    [Top]
Wall Brown (Lasiommata megera)
At this date, I have only observed one Wall Brown in my garden. Moreover this is the only one of this species I have seen in the neighbourhood. I have only seen other ones near the Atlantic coast.


Wall Brown (Lasiommata megera) - Ardèche, France - August 16th 2008
[To know more about the Wall Brown]    [Next picture]    [Previous picture]    [Top]
Wall Brown (Lasiommata megera)
Males differ from females by a dark and oblique androconial stripe on the forewing.


Wall Brown (Lasiommata megera) - Côtes d'Armor, France - August, 15th 2009
[To know more about the Wall Brown]    [Next picture]    [Previous picture]    [Top]
Wall Brown (Lasiommata megera)
Here is, at least, a picture of a female you can recognize by the lack of the androconial stripe.


Wall Brown (Lasiommata megera) - Révfülöp, Lake Balaton, Hungary - May 20th 2016
[To know more about the Wall Brown]    [Next picture]    [Previous picture]    [Top]
Wall Brown (Lasiommata megera)
View of the underside of the wings of this Wall Brawn landed on the ground.


Wall Brown (Lasiommata megera) - Tulcea, Romania - August 1st 2019
[To know more about the Wall Brown]    [Next picture]    [Previous picture]    [Top]
Wall Brown (Lasiommata megera)
We are at the entrance to the Danube Delta. This Wall Brown allows us to wait before the boat trip to observe the birds tomorrow.


Wall Brown (Lasiommata megera) - Yvelines, France - June 2nd 2020
[To know more about the Wall Brown]    [Next picture]    [Previous picture]    [Top]
Wall Brown (Lasiommata megera)
Is it the fact of being more assiduous in my observations or an increase in the numbers of this species? I now observe Wall Brown butterflies in my garden in the Paris region every year.


Wall Brown (Lasiommata megera) - Yvelines, France - June 2nd 2020
[To know more about the Wall Brown]    [Previous picture]    [Top]
Wall Brown (Lasiommata megera)
The Wall Brown is OK but the garage door could use a little paint.

[Top]    Site map    André Bon December 2024