Gegenes nostradamus
Photo Credits: Paolo Mazzei – www.leps.it
Distribution: it is found from the Mediterranean Sea, through Anatolia to Turkestan and India. In Italy it is a rare species and the quantities are decreased. His remarks refer to the southern coasts of the Peninsula. In the territory flies in dry, sandy hills.
Description: the Nostradamus butterfly is dark brown, base smoky black ; inner margin of the hind wing paler than the ground colour, and a few white dots on the fore wing in the female. Underside is pale brown, with some obscure white spots towards the tip of the fore wing, and in the female at the hind-margin of the hind wing also. Wingspan : 15-16mm.
Biology: adults are on wing from May to October in multiple generations. The larvae feed on various grasses, including Gramineae, Aeluropus (in the Sinai desert) and Panicum species.
