Speckled Wood

Pararge aegeria (Linnaeus, 1758)

Status

Description

A medium sized brown butterfly, speckled with either pale yellow or orange spots. The forewing has a black spot, white pupiled. The hindwing upperside has a series of yellow bordered submarginal black spots, white pupiled. The forewing underside is similar to the upperside, the hindwing is bottled brown. The markings are distinctive, so shouldn’t be confused with any other species. Females tend to have larger yellow or orange spots than males.

Habitat Requirements

Shaded woody areas and gardens.

Larval Foodplants

Heath False-brome Brachypodium pinnatum, False Brome Brachypodium sylvaticum, Bermuda Grass Cynodon dactylon, Cock's-foot Dactylis glomerata subsp. hispanica, Common Couch Elytrigia repens, Yorkshire-fog Holcus lanatus.

Observations

In the north of Europe, the ground colour of this butterfly is usually chocolate and vanillla. In southern Europe this changes to chocolate and orange. Interestingly, on Corfu both colour morphs can be seen.

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

First and Last Sightings

Year First Last/latest # Days
2023 05/01/2023 24/11/2023 323 days
2022 01/01/2022 25/12/2022 358 days
2021 10/02/2021 31/12/2021 324 days

Number of Observations

Year Number of observations
2023 344
2022 544
2021 238
Grand Total 1126

Distribution Map

Distribution maps for this species are currently unavailable.

Flight Times for the Speckled Wood (2023)

The chart below shows flight data by month for 2023

Flight Times for the Speckled Wood (All Data)

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

Taxonomy

  • Vernacular/Common Name: Speckled Wood
  • Family: Nymphalidae (Rafinesque, 1815)
  • Sub-family: Satyrinae (Boisduval, 1833)
  • Tribe: Satyrini (Boisduval, 1833)
  • Sub-tribe: Parargina (Tutt, 1896)
  • Genus: Pararge (Hübner, 1819)
  • Species: aegeria (Linnaeus, 1758)

References

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