Duke of Burgundy (Hamearis lucina)

Family: Riodinidae Checklist: 60.001

 
Description
Wing span: 29-34 mm. The Duke of Burgundy is the sole British representative of a subfamily known as the metalmarks. A characteristic of this family is that females have six fully-functional legs, whereas males only have four, with the forelegs being greatly reduced. The sexes are similar, but the male has more black on its wings. It is found mainly in central southern England. At one time most colonies of this species lived in woodland, where it bred on Primroses which grew in clearings that had been coppiced. With the decline in coppicing, most colonies are now found on scrubby downland where Cowslips are used as the food plant.
 
Images (click to enlarge)
Duke of Burgundy ♂ © David Hastings
Duke of Burgundy ♂ underside © David Hastings
Duke of Burgundy ♀ © David Hastings
Male Male underside Female Female underside
 
Life Cycle
There is one brood each year, with the adults usually emerging at the end of April in southern sites, peaking in the middle of May. A partial second brood may appear in some years. The pupa is the over-wintering stage.
 
Larval Foodplants
The primary larval foodplants are Cowslip (Primula veris) and Primrose (Primula vulgaris). False Oxlip (Primula elatior) is also used.
 
Nectar Sources
Adults feed on Tormentil, Bugle, buttercups, hawthorns and Wood Spurge.
 
UK Conservation Status
Vulnerable
 
Earliest UTB first sighting (since 2004) : 14th April
Mean UTB first sighting (since 2004) : 24th April
 
Species Champions
Peter Ogden
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Aga Bogucka
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Reports
 
Distribution and Sites
 

Key
1 sighting 2-9 max seen 10+ max seen
This species is a habitat specialist. It can be found at these sites:
Buckinghamshire
Bradenham
Incombe Hole
Ivinghoe Beacon
Oxfordshire
Crog Hill

 
Related Species
All Species