Chilades trochylus (Freyer, 1845)


Chilades trochylus: Female (Askion, Northern Greece, July 2011) [N] Chilades trochylus: Female (Askion, Northern Greece, July 2011) [N] Chilades trochylus: Adult (Askion, July 2010) [N] Chilades trochylus: Adult (Askio mountains near Siatista, N-Greece,July 2010) [N] Chilades trochylus: Female (Askion, Northern Greece, July 2011) [N] Chilades trochylus: Female directly after oviposition. The egg is visible below the female un the lower leaf surfacer. Askio mountains, N-Greece, July 2010. [N] Chilades trochylus: Oviposition (Askion, July 2011) [N] Chilades trochylus: Ovum (Askion, July 2011) [N] Chilades trochylus: Hatched egg and feeding pattern of the young larva (Askio mountains, July 2010) [M] Chilades trochylus: Larva [M] Chilades trochylus: Larva (Askio mountains, July 2010) [M] Chilades trochylus: Larva [M] Chilades trochylus: Larva [S] Chilades trochylus: Flowering host plant (Andrachne telephioides) [N] Chilades trochylus: Fruiting host plant [N] Chilades trochylus: Plant with eggs (Andrachne telephioides) [N] Chilades trochylus: Andrachne telephioides: only younger shoots more in the center have been used for oviposition [N] Chilades trochylus: Habitat in Northern Greece (foreground, Askion, July 2010) [N]

Host plants:
The caterpillars feed on Andrachne telephioides (Euphorbiaceae, Greece), and according to literature also Heliotropium (Israel).

Habitat:
Chilades trochylus inhabits hot, rocky and only gappy overgrown areas with some pioneer character. I found adults and caterpillars in late July 2010 in Northern Greece in large grassland areas only very locally for example in a few years ago mechanically torn area, but not in the unaffected grasslands.

Life cycle:
Chilades trochylus forms several generations from late March to October. The tiny butterflies are very easy to overlook. They usually fly close to the ground. I observed oviposition on hot spots on Andrachne telephioides, e.g. to young shoots, which grew on stone edges.

Endangerment factors:
Chilades trochylus is strongly threatened on its few sites in south east Europe (succession, overbuilding, agricultural intensification). A habitat at Kozani was destroyed by the construction of a new dirt road for a new solar farm.

Remarks:
Chilades trochylus is in Europe only known from Greece (locally on the mainland and the islands of Samos, Rhodes, Crete) and southeast Bulgaria. In addition, Chilades trochylus flies in central Africa, Egypt, Asia Minor and from the Near and Middle East to Afghanistan.