On the occurrence of Eastern knapweed fritillary, Melitaea ornata 
(Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) in Croatia 
Toni Koren & Ana Stih 
Abstract. The occurrence of Melitaea ornata Christoph, 1893 is confirmed for Croatia. The species was recorded in six 
localities in different regions of the country. All records originate from mountain areas or areas with strong mountain influence. 
Also, all specimens were recorded in May, which indicates the univoltism of this species. 
Samenvatting. Over het voorkomen van Melitaea ornata (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) in Kroatië 
Melitaea ornata Christoph, 1893 wordt hiervoor het eerst uit Kroatië vermeld. De soort werd er vastgesteld in zes lokaliteiten, 
vooral uit bergstreken of uit gebieden dichtbij bergen. Alle exemplaren werden in mei waargenomen, wat duidt op slechts één 
generatie per jaar. 
Résumé. De la présence de Melitaea ornata (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) en Croatie 
Melitaea ornata Christoph, 1893 est mentionnée ici pour la première fois de Croatie. L'espèce a été trouvée dans six localités 
dans ce pays, dans des montagnes ou des régions montagneuses. Tous les exemplaires ont été trouvés en mai, ce qui indique 
l'univoltinisme de cette espèce. 
Key words: Melitaea ornata - Croatia - distribution - new records. 
Koren T.: University of Primorska, Science and Research Centre, Institute for Biodiversity Studies, SI-6310 Izola, Giordana Bruna 
6, Slovenia, E-mail: koren.tonil@gmail.com 
Stih A.: Croatian Herpetological Society - Hyla, Prva Breznicka 5a, 10 000 Zagreb, Croatia. 
Introduction 
The genus Melitaea comprises of about 65 small to 
medium sized butterfly species distributed widely across 
the Palearctic region (Leneveu et al. 2009). In Europe 15 
species of the genus Melitaea occur (Van Swaay et al. 
2010), of which eight are present in Croatia (Sasic & 
Mihoci 2011). In most cases, the European 
representatives of this genus have clearly visible external 
morphological characteristics and they can be easily 
distinguished from each other (Tolman & Lewington 
2008). However, for some species complexes, like that of 
Melitaea athalia (Rottemburg, 1775), Melitaea aurelia 
(Nickerl, 1850) and Melitaea britomartis Assmann, 1847, 
an analysis of the genitalia is crucial for a correct 
Identification (Koren & Jugovic 2012). 
Another problematic species complex of the same 
genus is that of Melitaea phoebe (Denis & Schiffermüller, 
1775). The nominate species, M. phoebe, is distributed 
from North Africa, across Europe, Turkey, and the Middle 
East towards Mongolia and China (Tolman & Lewington 
2008) . Recently, many subspecies of this M. phoebe from 
Europe and Asia were recognized as separate species, 
according to their common ecological characteristics, 
including their univoltism, the red head capsule of L4 
larvae and the preference to Cirsium or Centaurea host- 
plants (Tóth & Varga 2010). At first, some subspecies 
were assigned to Melitaea telona Fruhstorfer, 1908 (Tóth 
& Varga 2010), which later proved to be conspecific with 
Melitaea ornata Christoph, 1893, which is now the 
accepted name (Jaksic 2011, Tóth & Varga 2011, Tóth et 
al. 2013). The species status was proven by genital 
morphometry (Tóth & Varga 2011) and on the basis of 
mitochondrial and two nuclear genes (Leneveu et al. 
2009) . The current knowledge about the distribution of 
this species includes the Southern part of the Italian 
peninsula, the Balkans, Hungary, Greece, Turkey and 
localized records in parts of western Asia (Tóth et al. 
2012). Among the subspecies which were attributed to 
M. ornata is also Melitaea phoebe nigrogyia Verity, 1938 
described from Opatija (Croatia) but only on the base of 
the literature description of the species (Tóth & Varga 
2010). The presence of M. ornata in Croatia was also 
shown in the recent paper dealing with the current 
distribution (Tóth et al. 2012). In the paper, there are 
three points on the map showing the territory of Croatia, 
but its presence there was not addressed, and it is not 
known if the points originate from the literature or they 
represent new records (Tóth et al. 2012). Also, this 
species was not listed in the recent checklist of 
butterflies of Croatia (Sasic & Mihoci 2011). The aim of 
this paper is to report the new record of M. ornata for 
the territory of Croatia, and confirm its occurrence in the 
country. 
Materials and methods 
During the year 2012 we did an intensive survey of 
the butterfly fauna of Croatia. During that period special 
attention was given to the M. phoebe species complex. 
The specimens were collected with an entomological net 
and stored in a private butterfly collection (Koren in 
Pazin, Croatia). For each specimen basic data about the 
habitat were noted, as well as the geographic 
coordinates. Coordinates were taken using a Garmin e- 
Trex Vista device. Additionally, specimens from the first 
author's collection, collected between the years 2002- 
2011, were included in the analysis. The determination of 
the collected specimens was done using the 
determination key presented in Tóth & Varga (2011). To 
confirm the correct determination, genital slides were 
prepared using the Standard preparation method, similar 
to that given by Tóth & Varga (2011). The abdomen of 
fresh specimens was cut, and left overnight in a 10% KOH 
solution. After that the genitalia were cleaned, mounted 
in Euparal and photographed. 
ISSN 0771-5277 
Phegea 41 (3) 01.ix.2013: 63 
