| ADULT |
Wingspan - 55 - 69mm (male); 62 - 75mm (female). The
males upper surface is bright orange with variable black markings.
The hindwing has five post discal spots with the middle one the
smallest, or occasionally absent. The female is usually paler in
colour but she usually has a nice dusting of green scales near to the
body and on the hindwing. Both sexes have orange undersides to the
forewings with black spotting. The hindwings are creamy brown and
have various white markings. The arc of rusty post discal spots
with white centres are a key ID feature as in Fig 1. |
| CHRYSALIS |
20mm. Polished brown found suspended from a silken
pad within thick vegetation or under a leaf. |
| LARVA |
38mm. Dark to reddish brown with white stripes and
pinkish stripes. It is found on young violet leaves. |
| EGG |
Pink to grey, conical and ridged. Located on sweet
or common dog violets. Eggs overwinter. |
| BEHAVIOUR |
A powerful flyer that soars through woodland rides and
across clearings with majestic ease. It feeds on brambles and
thistles and during adverse weather it roosts in treetops. |
| HABITAT |
Woodland clearings, rides and margins, rough grassland and
lower hillsides. |
| FLIGHT PERIOD |
Late June - August. |
