Wingspan: 43–55 mm
Flight period of butterflies: in one generation from June to August
Larval host plants: species from the grass family, mainly from the genus Brachypodium
Scopoli's golden-eyed (Lopinga achine) is one of the fritillaries, which we classify in the subfamily of ocarids. Why, Scopoli's golden-eyed reveals itself to us when at rest it closes its wings. At that moment it displays a number of large ’eye’ spots that can scare away a predator. More often, however, they redirect its attention from the real eyes and head to the fake eye spots on the wings, which can mean the difference between life and death. This species was named after the physician and naturalist G. A. Scopoli, who first described it in the mid-18th century and gave it the scientific name Lopinga achine.
Adult butterflies like to perch on shrubs and trees on forest edges and on forest clearings, where the larval host plants also thrive. In our country the species is protected, and in the European Union it has been recognized as requiring strict protection and has been included on the Natura 2000 list.
