Cardinal

Argynnis pandora ([Denis & Schifferm眉ller], 1775)

Status

Description

A medium sized dull golden-brown butterfly with black spots on the upperside. The underside of the hindwing is green with silvery bands, the forewing is a distinctive rose-red with black spots and a greenish wing tip. The upperside markings could be confused with A. paphia, but the underside hindwing is dull greenish, and the forewing is without any red colouring.聽

Habitat Requirements

Very little known about this species habitat preferences in Corfu.

Larval Foodplants

Mediterranean White Violet Viola alba(flowers fragrant, white or blue-violet),
Mediterranean White Violet Viola alba subsp. alba (flowers fragrant, white or blue-violet), Mediterranean White Violet Viola alba subsp. dehnhardtii (flowers fragrant, white or blue-violet), Field Pansy Viola arvensis, Viola cephalonica, Dwarf Pansy Viola kitaibeliana, Sweet Violet Viola odorata, Early Dog-violet Viola reichenbachiana.

Observations

This is a large, very powerful butterfly, which is probably a resident in the north of the island. However, its precise status on Corfu is uncertain because sightings are rare.

Very few observations have been made: the first few were Clare Butler (Agios Martinos) summer 2012, Pete Smith - male & female - (Old Perithia) May 2012, Bri Smith (Pagoi) 9 September 2013, Peter Hardiman (Mt Pantokrator) 19 May 2020, Max Anderson (Mt Pantokrator) 28 August 2020.

These few sightings suggest it may be double brooded (bivoltine).

*The information provided in the tables below is based on verified sightings of the Cardinal submitted via this website since 1st January 2021.

First and Last Sightings

Year First Last/latest # Days
2023 18/06/2023 18/06/2023 0 days
2022 30/05/2022 24/09/2022 117 days

Number of Observations

Year Number of observations
2023 1
2022 6
2021 0
Grand Total 7

Distribution Map

Distribution maps for this species are currently unavailable.

Flight Times for the Cardinal (2023)

The chart below shows flight data by month for 2023

Flight Times for the Cardinal (All Data)

The chart below shows flight data by month since 1st January 2021

Taxonomy

  • Vernacular/Common Name: Cardinal
  • Family: Nymphalidae (Rafinesque, 1815)
  • Sub-family: Heliconiinae (Swainson, 1822)
  • Tribe: Argynnini (Duponchel, 1835)
  • Genus: Argynnis (Fabricius, 1807)
  • Species: pandora ([Denis & Schifferm眉ller], 1775)

References

For a list of references, please see our bibliography page.