Speckled Wood, Mariposa de los muros

Pararge aegeria

Description:

Brown butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. This is a butterfly most commonly associated with woodland and unkempt hedgerows, particularly where there is damp and partial shade. On bright sunny days, Speckled Woods are often to be seen flitting around in forest clearings. The appearance of this butterfly changes from north to south, forming a "cline", where individuals in the north are dark brown with white spots, with those in more southerly locations being dark brown with orange spots. The upperside of the wings is dark brown, with spots of yellow-ochre. The forewings have a dozen of these, as well as a black eyespot with a white pupil positioned towards the apex. The hindwings have two (yellow ochre spots), behind which there is a band of a similar yellow colour, showing four black eyespots, of which the foremost is smaller and lacks a pupil, the others having a white pupil. The underside of the forewings resembles the upperside; only the ground colour and the spots are a little paler. The underside of the hindwings is green-grey, slightly lustrous, with two brown, wavy, transverse lines, outside which there are two yellowish spots, then a curved array of five to six whitish points surrounded by brown, finally a violet tint which covers almost all the outer margin. The antennae have a tapered club at the end.. 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. The subespecies seen in Spain, Portugal and other parts of southern Europe is Pararge aegeria ssp aegeria, with the wings decorated with somewhat larger blotches that are orange rather than cream.