Ábrahám Levente (szerk.): Válogatott tanulmányok XVIII. - Natura Somogyiensis 34. / Miscellanea 18. (Kaposvár, 2020)
Schmidt P. et al.: A faunistic contribution to the butterfly fauna of Oman (Lepidoptera: Diurna)
Schmidt et al.: A contribution to the butterfly fauna of Oman 167 grassland / 28.10.2018 / leg. L. Ábrahám, S. Ilniczky; 1 ex. / OMAN, Gov. Dhofar / 3 km W of Rakhyuth / N16°45.225' E53°23.905' / 36 m wadi / 31.10.2018 / leg. L. Ábrahám, S. Ilniczky; 1 ex. / OMAN, Gov. Dhofar / Wadi Shaboun / N17°32.83’ E54°38.78’ / 386 m dry forest / 01.05.2019 / leg. L. Ábrahám, S. Ilniczky, G. Körtési; 1 ex. / OMAN, Reg. Al Batinah South / Balad Seet / N23° 11.794' E57°23.426' / 914 m oasis, spring / 06.05.2019 / leg. L. Ábrahám, S. Ilniczky, G. Körtési. Distribution: The subspecies cebrene (Trimen, 1870) occurs in all over sub-Saharan Africa, north to Lebanon and the Arabian Peninsula. The nominate subspecies is distributed in the tropical and subtropical areas of Asia, eastward to Indo-China. The African subspecies is common in most of Oman, except the north, where it is quite local and rare. Remarks'. Both Junonia hierta cebrene and the following species J. orithya here species share similar habitats, biology, and behaviour. They usually fly close to the ground, often land on leaves, bushes and even on bare ground to sunbathe, they are attracted to flowers. Males of both species are often seen protecting their territories in open areas but not usually in hilltop position. They also express similar courtship and mating flight, flying very high and rapidly in a spiral line (Larsen & Larsen 1980). Both have a migratory habit (Larsen 2005) or they rather extend their breeding range temporarily into wetter tropical areas during the dry season (Sáfíán pers. obs.). The main host plants of J. hierta cebrene are Asteracantha and Barleria species (Larsen & Larsen 1980). Junonia orithya here Lang, 1884 Material examined: 2 exx. OMAN, Gov. Dhofar, Jabal al Qamar, E of Mugurah, N16°45.768' Е53°30.66Г 16 m, seashore, 15-16.10.2009 leg. S. Ilniczky, S. J. Simonyi; 2 exx. OMAN, Gov. Dhofar, Jabal al Qara, W of Al Mughsayl N16°51.243' E53°43.149' 496 m 07.07.2010 leg. S. J. Simonyi, S. Ilniczky; 2 exx. / OMAN, Gov. Dhofar / 3 km N of Quiroon Hairitti / N17° 16.362' E54°04.949' 813 m dry grassland / 28.10.2018 / leg. L. Ábrahám, S. Ilniczky; 1 ex. / OMAN, Gov. Dhofar / 7 km W of Mirbat / N17°01.578' E54°39.322' /31m seeshore, sand dunes / 03.11.2018 / leg. L. Ábrahám, S. Ilniczky; 1 ex. / OMAN, Gov. Al Dakhiliyah / Misfah, Jabal Shams / N23°14.154' E57°08.987' / 1400 m rocky wadi / 05.05.2019 / leg. L. Ábrahám, S. Ilniczky, G. Körtési. Distribution: The nominate subspecies spread from the Middle East to India, across Southeast Asia to North Australia. J. orithya ssp. madagascariensis Guenée, 1865 is distributed widely in sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. It is one of the few species, which is distributed in almost the whole Arabian Peninsula, including Oman (Polak & Verovnik 2009). Remarks: On the species’ behaviour see notes above in J. hierta cebrene. The host plants of J. orithya in Asia are Barleria and Justicia species, also Blepharis ciliaris, Lippia nodiflora, Convulvulus arvensis (Tshikolovets 2011). In Africa larvae of ssp. madagascariensis feed on various Convolvulaceae, Scrophulariaceae and Acanthaceae (Larsen 1991, 2005), no specific information is known for the Arabian subspecies. Melitaea deserticola Oberthür, 1909 Material examined: 3 exx. / OMAN, Gov. Dhofar, Jabal al Qara, W of Al Mughsayl N16°51.243' E53°43.149' 496 m, grassy hillside with shrubs 13.10.2009 leg. S Ilniczky, S. J. Simonyi. Distribution: This species occurs in Northern Africa (from Morocco to Lybia), certain parts of the Middle East and the Arabian Peninsula. In Oman, it is restricted to Dhofar.
