[249] Pararge aegeria, Speckled Wood
Introduction
Pararge aegeria, the Speckled Wood, is one of the most common and widespread British butterflies, easily recognizable from its speckled brown appearance. I suppose it could be called the Speckled Wood Butterfly but I don’t think it ever is.
Taxonomy
Kingdom – Animals
Phylum – Arthropods
Class – Insects
Order – Lepidoptera
Family – Nymphalidae
Subfamily – Satyrinae (Browns)
Tribe – Satyrini
Subtribe – Parargina
Genus – Pararge
Scientific Name – Pararge aegeria
Name
This butterfly can obviously be called speckled and it tends to live in and around woods, but I can’t trace the etymology of either Pararge or aegeria.
Description
The upper wings of the Speckled Wood ae usually held out when resting. They are brown with a pattern of a number of lighter speckles. Some of the speckles contain a dark circular spot. This speckled appearance gives them some camouflage in the dappled sunlight in trees.
There is variation in the exact colours, especially between subspecies. The main colour varies from dark brown to orange-brown and the speckles can be white, cream, pale yellow or a light orange colour.
The underside of the wings is like a blurred version of the tops.
The general size and wing length vary throughout their range.
Adults only take liquid food – honeydew from insects or nectar from flowers. Caterpillars feed on grass such as [176] Yorkshire Fog.
It is the only species of British butterfly that hibernates either as a caterpillar or as a pupa. Two overlapping cohorts emerge as adults in the spring.
Habitat
The Speckled Wood is found over the Palearctic region – Europe, Northern Africa, and Western and Central Asia. Two subspecies cover this area, which includes England and Wales and the island of Ireland, with gradual intergrading where geographical ranges overlap.
In addition, there are two isolated subspecies found in Northern Scotland and the Isles of Scilly.
The only other two species of Pararge are found on the island of Madeira and the Canary Islands.
Pararge aegeria is found in grassy and flowery habitats such as meadows and woods
Other Notes
This seems to a fairly common butterfly species in semi-urban locations – in parks and gardens.
See also
We still have another half a dozen types of butterfly to come but this is the last of the Browns.
The Species of Britain 