Marigold Dryad

Dryads ( Greek mythology ) - forest nymphs , female perfumes of trees. The dryad is inseparable from the tree in which it lives and dies with it ^[2] .

Fore wing length 22–34 mm. Wingspan 45–63 mm. The background color of the wings of the male is dark brown. On the front wing, two marginal rounded black spots with blue pupils stand out; on the rear wing, a dark marginal band is noticeable. The female is colored slightly lighter than the male. The background color of its wings is brown; the ocular spots on the fore wing are much larger, between them there is one or two small white spots with a dark rim. The underside of the female's wings is brown, covered with small mottles. The pattern follows the upper side of the wings. The dark marginal band is more pronounced than that of the male. The hind wing is approximately halved by a fuzzy wavy line. The inner region of the wing is slightly darker than the outer.

The range covers moderate Eurasia. In Eastern Europe, it occurs in the zone of deciduous forests and forest-steppes of Ukraine and Russia. It occurs on the western part of the Baltic coast in Poland, and further to the south the range passes through the central and southeastern part of Poland along the Carpathians to the Hungarian and Lower Danube lowlands. In Belarus, the species is known from the only habitat in Polesie (Pinsk district of the Brest region). Further to the east along the forest-steppe zone of Ukraine, the species range passes through the Don region to the northern part of the Volga-Akhtuba floodplain in the Astrakhan region of Russia, and the Southern Urals. To the south the species is found on the southern coast of Crimea, in the Ciscaucasia and in the Greater Caucasus ^[1] .

In the plain inhabited by grass and meadow glades and edges of deciduous forests, often found in floodplains. In the steppe zone inhabits ravines among the steppes. In the Caucasus it inhabits mountain and floodplain meadows, meadow steppes with shrubbery, as well as the edges of forests and woodlands, lawns and glades in shady mountain mixed and deciduous forests. In the mountains rise to heights up to 2000 m above sea level ^[1] .

One generation is developing in a year. Butterflies fly from early July to the first half of September. Butterflies feed on the nectar of flowers of various plants. Sometimes they can be seen sitting on cow dung. The males do not show aggressiveness towards each other, flutter low and slowly in search of females sitting in the grass. Females adhere to shady areas under the forest canopy. During mating, a disturbed female carries a male attached to her. The eggs are scattered by the female on the litter in the curtains of cereals. The stage of the egg lasts 20-25 days. Emerging caterpillars feed inactive and winter at the first age. Beige caterpillar with four brown longitudinal stripes and a light brown head, intersected by four vertical dark lines. Fodder plants of caterpillars are cereals: high ryegrass , reed grass , hedgehog team , chaff , blue lightning , bluegrass . Pupation in the spring on the ground ^{[2] [1]} .

Protected in Poland ^[3] .

• Minois dryas - Marigold dryad - Butterflies of the Caucasus and South of Russia
• Minois dryas - euroButterflies
• Butterflies of Crimea - Satyrus dryas (Scopoli, 1763) - Satyr Dryad