Speckled Wood

Description:

The subspecies P. a. tircis is brown with pale yellow or cream spots and darker upperwing eyespots. The subspecies P. a. aegeria has a more orange background and the hindwing underside eyespots are reddish brown rather than black or dark gray. The two forms gradually intergrade into each other. Females have brighter and more distinct markings than males. The wingspan of both males and females is 4–4.5 cm, although males tend to be slightly smaller than females.

Habitat:

The speckled wood occupies a diversity of grassy, flowery habitats in forest, meadow steppe, forest, woods, glades, alongside hedges and and in wooded urban parks. It is found up to 1500 m. above sea level. In North Europe, Central Europe, Asia Minor, Syria, Russia and Central Asia where subspecies P. a. tircis occurs it is brown with pale yellow or cream spots and darker upperwing eyespots. In southwestern Europe and North Africa the subspecies P. a. aegeria has a colour which is more orange in the background; the hindwing underside eyespots are reddish brown rather than black or dark gray. The two forms gradually intergrade into each other. The speckled wood also occurs on the Atlantic island of Madeira. Molecular studies[1] suggest that the African and Madeiran populations are closely related and distinct from European populations of both subspecies, suggesting that Madeira was colonized from Africa and that the African population has a long history of isolation from European populations.

Notes:

spotted in my house