Meadow Brown
Maniola jurtina
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The most abundant butterfly of British grassland, and it will fly on a dull day when nothing else will.
A medium-sized brown butterfly with a single black eyespot near the forewing tip, usually with a white pupil and set in an orange patch — much larger and more obvious on females. Meadow browns are abundant in rough grassland, meadows, verges and woodland rides around Dumfries and are often the commonest butterfly present through high summer.
Behaviour
Unusually among butterflies, meadow browns will fly in overcast and even drizzly conditions that ground everything else, which is why they can seem to be the only species about on a grey July afternoon. The flight is low, bobbing and unhurried over grass. Caterpillars feed at night on fine-leaved grasses and overwinter part-grown, resuming in spring.
When to see it
Quick facts
- Family
- Browns (Nymphalidae, subfamily Satyrinae)
- Wingspan
- 4–6 cm
- Status
- Native; abundant in grassland
Photo by Charles J. Sharp, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons