Arichanna melanaria (Linnaeus, 1758)

Host plants:
The larvae feed on Vaccinium uliginosum, only rarely also related Ericaceae.

Habitat:
Arichanna melanaria inhabits usually bogs with open woodland (Pinus, Picea, Betula) and the host plant. In contrast to Colias palaeno which needs sunny bushes of V. uliginosum the larvae of Arichanna melanaria develop on shady bushes. The larva is often quite common in suitable habitats.

Life cycle:
The larvae are mature mostly in May. They live freely on the twigs, but seem to hide partly at the base of the plants during daytime. In a bog woodland with only single larvae (often in moult rest) during daytime I recorded much more larvae at night.
The moths fly in June and July (more rarely still in August) in the open bog woodlands. They often rest on trunks or bushes and are very fidgety in high temperatures (also active at daytime).

Endangerment factors:
Arichanna melanaria is endangered by disturbances of the hydrology of wooded bogs as well as by global warming and direct destroyment of the habitat (dense afforestations, intenser usage, nutrient deposition). But it is still more stable than e.g. butterflies like Colias palaeno which is dependent on open sites in bogs and adjacent nectar habitats in meadows etc.

Remarks:
Arichanna melanaria occurs from central and northern Europe to Japan.