Superfamily: Papilionoidea Family: Nymphalidae Status: Endemic to Madeira
Laurel Forest Tour (mainly between mid-July and September)
Note: when booking please state your interest in butterflies.
A medium-large dark brown butterfly with females upperside fore-wings showing two eye-spots on a yellow patch while in males these markings are obscured by a dark brown suffusion. Their undersides are mottled greyish-brown with a white discal band on the hind-wings, more distinctive on males
Madeira Grayling larva feeds on Gramineae such as Agrostis castellana, Aira praecox, Aira caryophyllea and Holcus sp.(Aguiar & Karsholt, 2006)
Hipparchia maderensis typical habitat is on highlands above 1000 metres of altitude (Aguiar & Karsholt, 2006).
On warm summer days it is common to find them in big numbers basking on the warm asphalt where several are run over by cars.
Only occurs in Madeira Island (Aguiar & Karsholt, 2006)
Regional status according to Aguiar & Karsholt, 2008: Endemic to Madeira
Regional status according to Aguiar & Karsholt, 2006: Endemic to Madeira
Regional status according to Wakeham-Dawson et al., 2001: Endemic
Status according to the European Red List of Butterflies, 2010: Least Concern
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