Zegris meridionalis Lederer, 1853

Host plants:
The larvae feed on some yellow flowering Brassicaceae like Hirschfeldia incana, Isatis tinctoria or Biscutella sp.

Habitat:
Zegris meridionalis inhabits dry and warm, not intensely used landscapes like steppe, stony slopes and especially fallow land and not intensely managed agricultural areas like stony arable land, olive groves and others with many fallow patches and not too intense usage.

Life cycle:
The adults occur in a single, long generation between late March and well into June, according to year and site. They are most often found between late April and mid-May. The eggs are deposited singly on flower buds. The larva develops very quickly on flowers and fruits in warm temperatures and can be already mature within three weeks after deposition of the egg. Pupation usually occurs on or even superficially in the soil.

Remarks:
Zegris meridionalis occurs in the eastern part of the Iberian Peninsula and in Morocco. Very closely related is the more SW-Asian Zegris eupheme which occurs in Europe in Crimea. Possibly Zegris meridionalis is only a subspecies of Z. eupheme, despite the genetical distance which is nor surprising when regarding the spatial distance and despite some smaller morphological differences.

In Spain Zegris meridionalis is decreasing very much due to agricultural intensification and partly also overbuilding of fallow land (e.g. Madrid).