CreatureData

Meadow brown

Maniola jurtina (Linnaeus, 1758)

Status not recordedbutterflies and moths

The meadow brown (Maniola jurtina) is an insect in the butterflies and moths group, placed in the family Nymphalidae. It belongs to the order Lepidoptera, superfamily Papilionoidea, subfamily Satyrinae and tribe Satyrini, within the genus Maniola.

Meadow brown (Maniola jurtina)
Photo: Charles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the meadow brown

Its scientific name carries the authority (Linnaeus, 1758), and it is also called the meadow brown butterfly.

Weight
Not recorded
Length
Not recorded
Wingspan
3.6 cm – 4.6 cmsrc for Wingspan
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Nectarivoresrc for Diet
Main food
flowerssrc for Main food
Habitat
forest, grassland, shrubland, wetlandsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Active
By day (diurnal)src for Active
On the wing
March, May to Octobersrc for On the wing
Generations a year
Onesrc for Generations a year
Larval food plants
Poaceae familysrc for Larval food plants
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
Not recorded

How big is the meadow brown?

MEADOW BROWN · WINGSPAN 4.6 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 4.6 cm, the recorded maximum wingspan of the meadow brown is about 2.7% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Photos of the meadow brown

Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.

Meadow brown (Maniola jurtina)
Flocci Nivis · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Meadow brown (Maniola jurtina)
Flocci Nivis · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Meadow brown (Maniola jurtina)
Flocci Nivis · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Meadow brown (Maniola jurtina)
Romzig · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Meadow brown (Maniola jurtina)
Romzig · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Meadow brown (Maniola jurtina)
Romzig · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Meadow brown (Maniola jurtina)
Robert Flogaus-Faust · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Meadow brown (Maniola jurtina)
James K. Lindsey · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Where does the meadow brown live?

Not recorded

What is the meadow brown?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The meadow brown (Maniola jurtina) is a butterfly found in the Palearctic realm. Its range includes Europe south of 62°N, Russia eastwards to the Urals, Asia Minor, Iraq, Iran, North Africa and the Canary Islands. The larvae feed on grasses.

From the Wikipedia article “Meadow brown” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Meadow_brown&oldid=1374343621), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the meadow brown endangered?

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

How is the meadow brown classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumArthropoda
  3. classInsecta
  4. orderLepidoptera
  5. familyNymphalidae
  6. genusManiola
  7. SpeciesManiola jurtina (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms Epinephele caeca, Epinephele janira, Epinephele janira hispulla, Epinephele jurtina, Epinephele jurtina emihispulla, Epinephele jurtina hispulla, Epinephele splendida, Epinephele subtusalbida, Maniola addenda, Maniola alba, Maniola anomala, Maniola anommata, Maniola aurea, Maniola bioculata, Maniola brigitta, Maniola caeca, Maniola caecoides, Maniola cinerascens, Maniola cinerea, Maniola costacava, Maniola dextroalbescens, Maniola emihispulla, Maniola erymanthea, Maniola erymanthoides, Maniola fortunata, Maniola fracta, Maniola frohawki, Maniola fulvopicta, Maniola ghilanica, Maniola grisea, Maniola griseoargentaceae, Maniola herta, Maniola hispulla, Maniola huenei, Maniola hyperanthoides, Maniola illuminata, Maniola illustris, Maniola infrarecticulata, Maniola inocellata, Maniola intermedia, Maniola janira, Maniola jurtina emihispulla, Maniola jurtina hispulla, Maniola jurtina janira, Maniola jurtina occidentalis, Maniola jurtina splendida, Maniola kurdistana, Maniola latimargo, Maniola lemur, Maniola leucothoe, Maniola luigionii, Maniola marginata, Maniola marmorea, Maniola meridionalis, Maniola monoculus, Maniola nana, Maniola nigrianira, Maniola nigrorubra, Maniola nuragiformis, Maniola obliterans, Maniola oblitescens, Maniola occidentalis, Maniola ocellata, Maniola pallens, Maniola pamphilus, Maniola parafeminea, Maniola parvula, Maniola pauper, Maniola persica, Maniola phormia, Maniola praehispulla, Maniola rufocincta, Maniola semialba, Maniola semialba, Maniola semialba, Maniola semialba, Maniola semiintermedia, Maniola splendida, Maniola subhispulla, Maniola suffusa, Maniola telmessiaeformis, Maniola testacea, Maniola tincta, Maniola tithoniformis, Maniola uhryki, Maniola violacea, Maniola wauteri, Papilio hispulla, Papilio janira, Papilio jurtina, Pararge janira, Satyrus hispulla, Satyrus janira

Other names and names in other languages (54)
  • Meadow brown butterflyEnglish
  • بني المرجArabic
  • Профилна пеперудаBulgarian
  • Bruna de pratCatalan
  • okáč lučníCzech
  • Gweirlöyn y DdôlWelsh
  • Gweirloynod y DdôlWelsh
  • Brun janiraDanish
  • Almindelig græsøjeDanish
  • GræsrandøjeDanish
  • Stor okseøjeDanish
  • Stort okseøjeDanish
  • Großes OchsenaugeGerman
  • Μανιόλα της γιούρταςGreek
  • OksokululoEsperanto
  • kesasilmikEstonian
  • قهوهای مرغزارPersian
  • tummahäränsilmäFinnish
  • MyrtilFrench
  • Brún SâneachjeWestern Frisian
  • Donnóg fhéirIrish
  • ailean donnScottish Gaelic
  • àilean donnScottish Gaelic
  • àilean-donnScottish Gaelic
  • aileanan donnaScottish Gaelic
  • an t-àilean donnScottish Gaelic
  • leòmainn-donnScottish Gaelic
  • leòmann donnScottish Gaelic
  • leòmann-donnScottish Gaelic
  • Donnag faiyrManx
  • Žutopjegavi crnacCroatian
  • Veliko volovsko okoCroatian
  • Nagy ökörszemlepkeHungarian
  • GiurtinaItalian
  • マキバジャノメJapanese
  • OchsenaLuxembourgish
  • Paprastasis Jautakis SatyrasLithuanian
  • Pļavas vēršacītisLatvian
  • rappringvingeNorwegian Bokmål
  • Bruin zandoogjeDutch
  • rappringvengNorwegian Nynorsk
  • przestrojnik wielkiPolish
  • Przestrojnik jurtinaPolish
  • LobaPortuguese
  • Воловий глазRussian
  • očkáň lúčnySlovak
  • Navadni lešnikarSlovenian
  • Смеђи окашSerbian
  • Smeđi okašSerbian
  • slåttergräsfjärilSwedish
  • allmän slåttergräsfjärilSwedish
  • Çayır EsmeriTurkish
  • Очняк волове окоUkrainian
  • Maniola jurtinaVietnamese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidata

Relatives of the meadow brown

Other species in the same genus Maniola.

CompareMeadow brown vs Aegean meadow brownMeadow brown vs Sardinian meadow brownMeadow brown vs Chios meadow brownMeadow brown vs Halicarnas brown

Common questions

Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.

What kind of animal is the meadow brown?

The meadow brown is an insect in the butterflies and moths group, belonging to the order Lepidoptera.

What is the scientific name of the meadow brown?

Its scientific name is Maniola jurtina, placed in the genus Maniola.

Who named the meadow brown and when?

The species name carries the authority (Linnaeus, 1758).

What family does the meadow brown belong to?

It belongs to the family Nymphalidae, in the subfamily Satyrinae and tribe Satyrini.

What is another name for the meadow brown?

It is also called the meadow brown butterfly.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Meadow brown (Maniola jurtina). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/meadow-brown

MLA

“Meadow brown (Maniola jurtina).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/meadow-brown.

BibTeX
@misc{meadow_brown_2026,
  title = {Meadow brown (Maniola jurtina)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/meadow-brown},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}