Pyrgus melotis

Pyrgus melotis, the Aegean skipper, is a butterfly of the family Hesperiidae. It was described by Philogène Auguste Joseph Duponchel in 1832. It is found in the Caucasus, Transcaucasia, Asia Minor, Greece and the Middle East.^[1] It is a member of the Pyrgus malvae (grizzled skipper) species complex but separated by significant reproductive isolation mechanisms.^[2] The habitat consists of grasslands and slopes.

Pyrgus melotis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Hesperiidae
Genus:	Pyrgus
Species:	P. melotis
Binomial name
Pyrgus melotis (Duponchel, [1834])
Synonyms
Hesperia melotis Duponchel, [1834]

The length of the forewings is 11–15 mm. It is characterized by the underside of the hindwings, which is cream-coloured, thus obscuring the markings; the spots on the upperside, especially those of the forewings, are generally large and square.^[2] Adults are on wing from April to June and again from July to September in two or sometimes three generations per year.

Larvae have been recorded feeding on Rubus species.^[3]

Subspecies

• Pyrgus melotis melotis
• Pyrgus melotis ponticus Reverdin, 1914 (Caucasus, Transcaucasia)