Melanargia lachesis

Iberian Marbled White (Melanargia lachesis)

2024 photographs highlighted in yellow. Click on any photograph to go to an enlarged picture, or simply scroll down the page.


20666_male?_Gard_12Jun10	25889_male_Gard_20Jun11	43583_male_Gard_30Jun17	48448_male_Pyrénées-Orientales_13Jul21

51082_female_Gard_1Jul23	51077_female_Gard_1Jul23	51089_female_Gard_1Jul23	43595_female_Gard_30Jun17

25873_male_Gard_20Jun11	38405_male_Gard_11Jul15	48392_male?_Pyrénées-Orientales_12Jul21	48416_female?_Pyrénées-Orientales_13Jul21

25800_female_Gard_19Jun11	25811_female_Gard_19Jun11	25842_female_Gard_20Jun11

A principally Iberian species whose distribution extends eastwards along the southern areas of France, to about Avignon. I first saw lachesis in 2010 near Nîmes at a location I had been told about, and was at about the furthest eastern end of its distribution. There were maybe ten flying there, in company with the Marbled White (M. galathea) from which it is easily distinguishable because of the increased whiteness of lachesis both on the upperside and underside.

I have revisited the same location in Gard several times and usually found lachesis in good numbers, so it is a site that has thrived. Travelling further west toward the eastern Pyrénées, lachesis was present in good numbers at many locations, in one spot they could be counted in hundreds.

ref	sex	observations	alt. m
20666	M	this may well be a male based on its pose and slightly closer match to the markings as shown in T&L (not always a good method of determining sex).	60
25889	M	This is clearly a male based on body shape. Its strange behaviour on the ground is explained by the fact that it had been in the clutches of a crab spider from which I rescued it. It appeared unharmed when I placed it on the ground, but it soon transpired that the poison had already taken effect and a minute or two later it was dead.	60
43583	M	a male, I believe, mainly on the basis of the slightly lighter markings in the upf discal area, and the purer white colouring.	60
48448	M	a male, based on body shape. I suspect it had just emerged as the wings appeared soft and the pose suggested a wing-drying position.	1590
51082	F	I noted this as a male at the time, but the body curvature persuades me it is a female.	60
51077	F	a female, just a hint of blue in the uph ocelli.	60
51089	F	a female, just a hint of blue in the uph ocelli.	60
43595	F	a female on the basis of the body shape, the heavier upf discal markings and the slightly yellow tinge to the white.	60
25873	M	a male underside, very white by contrast with the creamy-yellow females.	60
38405	M	a male, toward the end of the flight period as the wing damage testifies.	60
48392	M?	a higher altitude male, probably a male based on the whiteness of the underside, whereas the female (see 48416 below) often has a slight yellowish tinge.	1360
48416	F?	the yellowish tinge here appears to suggest that 48416 is a female. it looks like an aberration but in fact a large section of the hindwing is missing.	1590
25800	F	a female underside, a delicate pale beige.	60
25811	F	a female underside, very faintly marked and washed over beige.	60
25842	F	a female, the discal markings in the cell region being distinctly different to the others on this page where the discal line reduces to a single thin line.	60