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| Melitaea athalia (ex-Mellicta athalia) | |||||
 | Heath Fritillary | ||||
 | Le Damier Athalie | ||||
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| Melitaea athalia (ex-Mellicta athalia) | |||||
| Heath Fritillary | ||||
| Le Damier Athalie | ||||
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| Melitaea athalia is very similar to Melitaea celadussa (ex-Melitaea helvetica). Checking the genitalia in males is the only way to get a reliable identification and tell these two species apart. The situation of M.athalia in France is rather complex as there is a large central belt in the country where it has crossbred with M.celadussa (hybridization zone), leading to individuals whose genitalia are intermediate between athalia and celadussa. The map below shows the distribution of both species and their hybridization zone. It was made according to the study carried out by Jean Bourgogne and collaborators in 1953. The limits of this contact zone between the two species might be a bit different nowadays. | |||
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| On this page are shown genuine M.athalia specimen from the contact zone between the two species and also hybrids which can dominate within a given population. Bibliography : 1) Melitaea athalia athalia (Rottemburg, 1775) et M. athalia helvetica (Rühl, 1888) en France - Etude biogéographique - Jean Bourgogne - Annales de la Société entomologique de France, 1953 ; 112 : p131-176 2) The classification of European butterflies - Lionel G.Higgins - Ed.Collins St Jame's place London,1975. | |||
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| 1] male of Melitaea athalia alt.352m from a site located in the contact zone - Tarn-et-Garonne (France) - 26/05/2023 | 2] same specimen as 1] | ||
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| 3] same specimen as 1] | 4] close-up of the genitalia of the male shown in photo 1]. A very prominent tooth on the terminal part of the valve (blue arrow) is the decisive criterion for separating this species from Melitaea celadussa whose valves lack this tooth. This specimen can be considererd as a genuine athalia | ||
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| 5] other male (same place as 1] alt.352m) - Tarn-et-Garonne (France) - 26/05/2023 | 6] same specimen as 5], close-up of the genitalia. Here, the main tooth is replaced by a slight bulge with a hardly visible tooth. This sighting shows the huge variability in the genitalia aspect within a given population in the contact zone. The individual here is considered as a transitional specimen (hybrid) between athalia and celadussa | ||
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| 7] other male (same place as 1] alt.352m) - Tarn-et-Garonne (France) - 26/05/2023 | 8] same specimen as 7] | ||
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| 9] same specimen as 7] , close-up of the genitalia. Here, the main tooth is replaced by a slight bulge (hybrid). This aspect is more like in M.celadussa albeit not typical of it | 10] other male (same place as 1] alt.352m). The tooth is very prominent in this male and looks like a hook, typical of a genuine M.athalia. Comparing to 9], this shows the extreme variability of the genitalia in a population located in the contact zone - Tarn-et-Garonne (France) - 26/05/2023 | ||
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| 11] male from a place within the contact zone alt.320m - Haute-Garonne (France) - 18/06/2021 | 12] same specimen as 11] | ||
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| 13] close-up of the genitalia of the male shown in photo 11], showing a small tooth (hybrid) | 14] other male (same place as 11] alt.320m) - Haute-Garonne (France) - 12/06/2021 | ||
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| 15] other male (same place as 11] alt.320m) - Haute-Garonne (France) - 12/06/2021 | 16] close-up of the head of a male (same place as 11] alt.320m) - Haute-Garonne (France) - 12/06/2021 | ||
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| 17] other male (same place as 11] alt.320m), close-up of the head - Haute-Garonne (France) - 12/06/2021 | 18] other male (same place as 11] alt.320m) - Haute-Garonne (France) - 18/06/2021 | ||
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| 19] other male (same place as 11] alt.320m) - Haute-Garonne (France) - 18/06/2021 | 20] same specimen as 19] | ||
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| 21] male (same place as 11] alt.320m) - Haute-Garonne (France) - 11/06/2021 | 22] same specimen as 21] | ||
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| 23] close-up of the genitalia of the male shown in photo 21]. In this specimen, the tooth is replaced by a bulge (hybrid) | 24] close-up of the genitalia of another male (same place as 11] alt.320m). Here, there is only a bulge visible and multiple small pointed teeth (hybrid) - Haute-Garonne (France) - 18/06/2021 | ||
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| 25] close-up of the genitalia of another male (same place as 11] alt.320m). Here, the tooth is bit more developped (hybrid) - Haute-Garonne (France) - 18/06/2021 | 26] other male (same place as 11] alt.320m) - Haute-Garonne (France) - 11/06/2021 | ||
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| 27] other male (same place as 11] alt.320m) - Haute-Garonne (France) - 18/06/2021 | 28] same specimen as 27] | ||
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| 29] male from a site located in the contact zone alt.500m - Côte d'Or (France) - 26/06/2024 | 30] same specimen as 29], close-up of the genitalia. Here, the tooth is not very prominent (hybrid) | ||
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| 31] other male (same place as 29] alt.500m) - Côte d'Or (France) - 26/06/2024 | 32] same specimen as 31] | ||
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| 33] same specimen as 29], close-up of the genitalia. Here, the tooth is not very prominent (hybrid) | 34] other male (same place as 29] alt.500m), close-up of the genitalia. Here, the tooth is prominent (hybrid) - Côte d'Or (France) - 26/06/2024 | ||
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| 35] other male (same place as 29] alt.500m) - Côte d'Or (France) - 26/06/2024 | 36] same specimen as 35] | ||
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| 37] same specimen as 35], close-up of the genitalia. Here, the tooth is replaced by a simple bulge (hybrid) | 38] mating pair (same place as 29] alt.500m) - Côte d'Or (France) - 26/06/2024 | ||
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| 39] male from a site located in the contact zone alt.450m - West of Aude (France) - 06/06/2022 | 40] same specimen as 39], close-up of the genitalia. Here, there is a small tooth (hybrid) | ||
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| 41] other male (same place as 39] alt.450m) - West of Aude (France) - 06/06/2022 | 42] same specimen as 41], close-up of the genitalia. Here, a tooth is hardly visible (hybrid) | ||
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| 43] female of Melitaea athalia alt.320m (same place as 11]) - Haute-Garonne (France) - 12/06/2021 | 44] other female alt.320m (same place as 11]) - Haute-Garonne (France) - 12/06/2021 | ||
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| 45] female alt.370m (place in the same district of the site where 29] was seen) - Côte d'Or (France) - 27/06/2024 | 46] other female - same place as 45] - Côte d'Or (France) - 27/06/2024 | ||
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| 47] female alt.450m (same place as 39]) - West of Aude (France) - 06/06/2022 | |||
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