Meadow Brown

Maniola jurtina (Linnaeus, 1758)

Status

Description

A medium sized brown butterfly, flying in grass meadows. The forewing has a medium sized black spot, white-pupiled, upperside and underside. Males have a dark brown upperside, and the slightly larger female has a large orangish patch on the forewing. The underside is similar, the forewing is chestnut coloured with a brown border, whilst the hindwing is brown, with a paler submarginal band. Whilst the markings are variable, it shouldn’t be confused with any other species in Corfu. 

Habitat Requirements

Meadows, scrub and woodland edges.

Larval Foodplants

Creeping Bent Agrostis stolonifera, Creeping Bent Agrostis stolonifera subsp. stolonifera, Meadow Foxtail Alopecurus pratensis, Great Brome Anisantha diandra, Compact Brome Anisantha madritensis, Ripgut Brome Anisantha rigida, Barren Brome Anisantha sterilis, Sweet Vernal-grass Anthoxanthum odoratum, Heath False-brome Brachypodium pinnatum, Hairy-brome Bromopsis ramosa, Bromus alopecuros, Bromus alopecuros subsp. alopecuros, Bromus alopecuros subsp. caroli-henrici, Bromus arvensis, Bromus arvensis subsp. arvensis, Bromus fasciculatus, Bromus fasciculatus subsp. fasciculatus, Bromus hordeaceus Soft-brome, Bromus hordeaceus subsp. mediterraneus, Bromus intermedius, Bromus intermedius subsp. intermedius, Bromus lanceolatus, Smooth Brome Bromus racemosus subsp. racemosus, Bromus rubens, Bromus rubens subsp. rubens, Bromus scoparius, Bromus squarrosus, Bromus squarrosus subsp. squarrosus, Bromus tectorum, Cock's-foot Dactylis glomerata subsp. hispanica, Festuca arundinacea, Festuca arundinacea subsp. atlantigena, Yorkshire-fog Holcus lanatus, Rough Meadow-grass Poa trivialis.

Observations

Not nearly as dominant in the Corfu butterfly species community as it is in the assemblages of other more industrialised nations. This probably indicates that the butterfly fauna is a lot healthier in Corfu than is the case in many other parts of Europe.

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

First and Last Sightings

Year First Last/latest # Days
2023 17/04/2023 25/05/2023 38 days
2022 27/04/2022 30/10/2022 186 days
2021 17/02/2021 08/11/2021 264 days

Number of Observations

Year Number of observations
2023 3282
2022 3314
2021 1841
Grand Total 8437

Distribution Map

Distribution maps for this species are currently unavailable.

Flight Times for the Meadow Brown (2023)

The chart below shows flight data by month for 2023 submitted online since 1st January 2023 to 28th May 2023.

Flight Times for the Meadow Brown (All Data)

The chart below shows flight data by month based on all data submitted online since 1st January 2019 to 28th May 2023.

Taxonomy

  • Vernacular/Common Name: Meadow Brown
  • Family: Nymphalidae (Rafinesque, 1815)
  • Sub-family: Satyrinae (Boisduval, 1833)
  • Tribe: Satyrini (Boisduval, 1833)
  • Sub-tribe: Maniolina (Grote, 1897)
  • Genus: Maniola (Schrank, 1801)
  • Species: jurtina (Linnaeus, 1758)

References

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