Muschampia tessellum (Hübner, 1803)

Host plants:
Phlomis species. In Europe, only the usage of Phlomis samia is so far well known.

Habitat:
Muschampia tessellum settles on moderately dry to mesophilic, sunny and partial shrub-rich, large-scale, extensively grazed pasture landscapes in mostly medium altitudes from 500 to 1600m above sea level.

Life cycle:
Obviously, the caterpillar overwinters most often as L3. I found caterpillars on Phlomis samia in northern Greece in about 1400-1600m (Mount Olympus) in the first week of May (2008). These larvae still had to pass two further moults. Thus they have obviously been in L3. At that time (L3-L4) they usually web the leaf margin upwords to a pocket-like enclosure, provided that the leaf is fully developed. In the last instar, a larger shelter is webbed of a complete leaf which both sides are spun together upward. Prior to pupation, the last shelter is reinforced cocoon-like. The adults fly from mid-June (at low altitudes probably already from late May) to early August.
A frequent companion species is sometimes Zerynthia polyxena, from which I observed many adults, eggs and young caterpillars in early May 2008 in the same habitat on Mount Olympus.

I recorded mature larvae in northern Greece (Vlasti) in early June 2019, half-grown ones still in L3 after hibernation in mid-April 2022. In the same locality I found many eggs and L1-L2 larvae (one already in L3) on the lower sides of leaves on the bottom half of inflorescences (some eggs also on ground-standing leaves). The young larvae are scraping the epidermis of the leaves and live in cases between the leaf epidermis and the lifted star hairs of the plant which the larva spins loosely. For hibernation (most often in L3) they create a leaf case that dies in summer/autumn.

Endangerment factors:
Muschampia tessellum is severely threatened by changes of land usage. Both overgrazing and abandonment (and subsequent bush encroachment) destroy the habitat quality. Locally, also overbuilding contributes to the decline. So a generous built road has recently (after the year 2000) destroyed parts of the habitat on the western side of Mount Olympus.

Remarks:
The distribution extends from southeastern Europe through Asia Minor, S-Ukraine, S-Russia and the Middle East to Mongolia. In southeastern Europe, populations are known from northern Greece, Bulgaria, Macedonia and very rarely also Romania.