Heteronympha merope

Heteronympha merope
both males Kangaroo Island, South Australia
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Heteronympha
Species:	H. merope
Binomial name
Heteronympha merope Fabricius, 1775
Synonyms
Satyrus archemor

female

Heteronympha merope, the common brown, is a species of butterfly of the family Nymphalidae, endemic to the southern half of Australia. The wingspan is about 60 millimetres (2.4 in) for males and 70 mm (2.8 in) for females.

The larvae feed on Poaceae species, including Brachypodium distachyon, Cynodon dactylon, Ehrharta erecta, Poa poiformis, Microlaena stipoides, Poa tenera and Themeda triandra.^[1] The common brown butterfly is emerging ten days earlier than it did 65 years ago due to the effects of climate change.^[2]

References

1. Don Herbison-Evans & Stella Crossley (7 May 2008). "Heteronympha merope". University of Technology, Sydney. Retrieved 29 January 2009. ^{[dead link‍]}
2. "Climate change causing butterflies to emerge 10 days early - Australian Geographic". Archived from the original on 29 March 2010. Retrieved 25 March 2010.

1. Schlossmann, Jessie. "Climate Change Causing Butterflies to Emerge Ten days Early". Australian Geographic 3-23-10 [1]
2. South Australian Butterflies Data Sheet.[2]

External links

• Media related to Heteronympha merope at Wikimedia Commons
• Data related to Heteronympha merope at Wikispecies