Filming VarWild: Libythea celtis

The Nettle-tree Butterfly (Libythea celtis Laicharting, 1782)

The Nettle-tree Butterfly is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae and is in Europe the only species of the subfamily Libytheinae. Its single host-plant is the Nettle tree (Celtis australis). From this species the butterfly overwinters well hidden into the vegetation. The butterflies come out of hibernation on warm days around late February and produce one generation that flies from May to September. A partial second generation flies from June to September although most butterflies from the two generations go in hibernation at the end of August.