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Kirinia climene

Lesser Lattice Brown

Field Notes

NW Greece, July 2004

Male

NW Greece, July 2004

Male

NW Greece, July 2004

Female

NW Greece, July 2004

Female

This is a little known butterfly of the southern Balkans. As far as I know it was first found in the early 1970s when it was seen as a "funny Meadow Brown, Maniola jurtina". Infact it rather closely resembles a small Lattice Brown, K. roxelana in flight. The forewing orange patches are very clearly visible and both species fly in such a way that the wings appear closed for long enough for the underside orange patch to be particularly noticeable - rather unlike jurtina.

In 2004 we found them flying in very dull and cool conditions following bad weather. As expected for this species they were flying along the edge of forest clearings and fond of resting on the leaves, branches and trunks of trees. Given better weather I think we would have found more than the half dozen we managed on this visit.

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