Rock Grayling (Hipparchia hermione)
Rock Grayling (Hipparchia hermione)
Rock Grayling (Hipparchia hermione)
Rock Grayling (Hipparchia hermione)
Rock Grayling (Hipparchia hermione)
Rock Grayling (Hipparchia hermione)

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Rock Grayling (Hipparchia hermione)


Photo © Chris van Swaay
FamilyNymphalidae
SubfamilySatyrinae
GenusHipparchia
Specieshermione
Authority(Linnaeus, 1764)
English NameRock Grayling
European Red List 2010Near Threatened (NT)
EU 27 Red List 2010Near Threatened (NT)
European Red List 2025Least Concern (LC)
EU 27 Red List 2025Least Concern (LC)
Habitats Directive
Bern Convention
CITES

Description

The Rock Grayling can be found at the edge of very open woodland on poor steppe-like grasslands, as found, for example, near open coniferous woods growing on sandy ground. In these habitats, there are usually rock masses or other sorts of open ground. The butterfly often rests on the ground or against tree trunks, where the colours and pattern of the underside of its wings provide excellent camouflage. The eggs are laid on different grasses, including fescues (Festuca spp.) and false-bromes (Brachypodium spp.). The caterpillars grow very slowly and hibernate when half-grown in the litter layer. They pupate in a little hollow in the ground, after spinning a sort of cocoon. The Rock Grayling has one brood a year.

Distribution

Andorra / Austria / Belarus / Czechia / France / France: Mainland / Germany / Italy / Italy: Mainland / Italy: Sicily (Possibly Present) / Latvia / Lithuania / Luxembourg (Regionally Extinct) / Norway / Poland / Portugal / Portugal: Mainland / European Russia / Slovakia / Spain / Spain: Mainland / Switzerland / Ukraine /

Larval Foodplants

No larval foodplants are available for this species.