Hamearis lucina - Duke of Burgundy - Sleutelbloemvlinder - Schlüsselblumen Würfelfalter
This little brown/orange butterfly belongs to the Riodinidae family which counts about 1200 species worldwide but only ONE in Europe, the Duke of Burgundy. Mostly it's treated as a subfamily of the Lycaenidae. The upperside of this beautiful butterfly is dark brown with orange spots. The underside is largely orange, with two distinct bands of white spots crossing the hindwing. Flight from April to September in two broods in open woodland and scrubby hillsides. Flight is swift and darting and the butterfly rarely flies far above the ground. The larval foodplants are Cowslip, Primrose and Oxlip.