Hipparchia statilinus (Hufnagel, 1766)

Host plants:
The larva feeds on grasses. Own observations succeeded on Festuca ovina agg. in oak (Quercus pubescens)/grasslands complexes of Provence and on Stipa in rocky steppe-like slopes in the Italian Valle di Susa.

Habitat:
Hipparchia statilinus colonizes sandy grasslands, rocky slopes and steppe-like grasslands with open soil spots and often groves.

Life cycle:
Hipparchia statilinus hibernates as L1. Young larvae feed during the day, especially in overcast skies and damp weather. I found many larvae in Stipa tufts at the edge of rocky slopes to downy oak woodland in the Susa Valley in May 2002 and in isolated Festuca tufts under light downy oaks in Luberon (Provence). The adults fly from late July to September.

Endangerment: threatened with extinction

Endangerment factors:
Hipparchia statilinus is very rare in Germany and still occurs only in the east. Cause of the decline is the isolation and fragmentation of suitable habitats and the qualitative degeneration. This species needs meagre, sparsely vegetated, dry areas with rocks or open ground. In the south, Hipparchia statilinus is still much more common, as in Provence or southewestern Alps.

Remarks:
The distribution ranges from North Africa across Southern and Central Europe (in the latter area only very disjoint) to Southwestern Asia.