Melitaea aurelia - Nickerl's Fritillary - Steppeparelmoervlinder - Ehrenpreis-Scheckenfalter

The ground colour of the male'supperside is bright orange with dark brown veins and cross-lines. The female has a simmilar pattern but her ground colour is oten a bit paler. Both sexes are often heavily dusted with dark-brown scales The underside of the forewing is orange with variable black spots and a yellowish margin. The underside of the hindwing resembles that of other meliteae species. The orange band outsidecontains a row of distinclty red spots. The marginal band, enclosed in two thin black lines is often noticeably darker than the neighbouring lunules. Flight from May to August in one brood in flower-rich grassland and heathland. The larval foodplant is mainly Ribwort Plantain. ​