Satyrium acaciae (Fabricius, 1787)


Satyrium acaciae: Adult (e.l. Provence, France) [S] Satyrium acaciae: Adult (Hautes Alpes, July 2012) [N] Satyrium acaciae: Adult (Northern Greece, Askio mountains near Siatista, late June 2013) [N] Satyrium acaciae: Female (Swabian Alb, Southern Germany) [N] Satyrium acaciae: Adult (e.l. N-Greece 2008) [S] Satyrium acaciae: Adult [N] Satyrium acaciae: Egg, well camouflaged [N] Satyrium acaciae: Ovum (few cm above limestone gravel, eastern Swabian Alb, Southern Germany) [N] Satyrium acaciae: Ovum (few cm above limestone gravel, eastern Swabian Alb, Southern Germany) [N] Satyrium acaciae: Ovum (in above 2m height above ground at a twig with rich flower buds, eastern Swabian Alb, Southern Germany) [N] Satyrium acaciae: Ovum (eastern Swabian Alb, Southern Germany) [N] Satyrium acaciae: Ovum [N] Satyrium acaciae: Ovum (eastern Swabian Alb) [N] Satyrium acaciae: L1 [S] Satyrium acaciae: L2 [S] Satyrium acaciae: L3 [S] Satyrium acaciae: Larva (N-Greece, early May 2008) [M] Satyrium acaciae: Larva [M] Satyrium acaciae: Larva [M] Satyrium acaciae: Larva (Italy, Abruzzes, Rieti, May 2013) [M] Satyrium acaciae: Larva (Italy, Abruzzes, Rieti, May 2013) [M] Satyrium acaciae: Larva [M] Satyrium acaciae: Pupa (e.l. N-Greece 2008) [S] Satyrium acaciae: Pupa [S] Satyrium acaciae: Pupa [S] Satyrium acaciae: Habitat on the Swabiann Alb [N] Satyrium acaciae: Habitat in Greece (near Prespa lakes) with tall Prunus-bushes/small trees (May 2008) [N]

Host plants:
The larvae feed on Prunus spinosa and especially in the south also other Prunus species. So I found many larvae in Northern Greece on small to tall bushes of Prunus sp. (not spinosa).

Habitat:
Satyrium acaciae colonizes bushy limestone grasslands, rocky slopes, old small-scale quarries and similar xerothermic habitats.

Life cycle:
The eggs overwinter (or better the caterpillar within the egg shell). The caterpillar is mostly mature in mid- or late May. It lives on small, low bushes, which are fully exposed to the sun (like directly on gravel). But sometimes oviposition takes also place on a bitb higher Prunus plants as is indicated by own caterpillar observations together with Satyrium pruni in more than 1-1.5m above ground in the Swabian Alb (Germany). In March 2009, I found there an egg in 2 meters of height! The adults fly in June and July and like to feed on yellow and white Asteraceae such as Senecio jacobeae, but also on thyme.

Endangerment: endangered

Endangerment factors:
Satyrium acaciae is endangered by reforestation after abandonment (succession), eutrophication, intensification and improper maintenance measures (radical removal of small bushes in the entire habitat at the same time).

Remarks:
The eggs are not easy to find on the knotty, often lichen-rich sloes due to their color and the fact that they are partially covered with hair.

The distribution ranges from parts of especially Northern Spain through central, southern and Southeastern Europe across Asia Minor, and thence far to southern Russia. In Central Europe Satyrium acaciae is found to the north approximately to the northern edge of the central German highlands and central Poland.



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