Speckled wood
Pararge aegeria (Linnaeus, 1758)
Status not recordedbutterflies and moths
The speckled wood (Pararge aegeria) is an insect in the butterflies and moths subgroup, placed in the family Nymphalidae. It belongs to the order Lepidoptera, superfamily Papilionoidea, subfamily Satyrinae, tribe Elymniini and genus Pararge.
Quick facts about the speckled wood
Its scientific name carries the authority (Linnaeus, 1758), and it is also called the speckled wood butterfly.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 3.5 cm – 4.1 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Nectarivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- flowerssrc for Main food
- Habitat
- forest, grassland, human_modified, shrublandsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Active
- By day (diurnal)src for Active
- On the wing
- February to Octobersrc for On the wing
- Generations a year
- Severalsrc 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 speckled wood?
Photos of the speckled wood
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the speckled wood live?
Not recorded
What is the speckled wood?
The speckled wood (Pararge aegeria) is a butterfly found in and on the borders of woodland areas throughout much of the Palearctic realm. The species is subdivided into multiple subspecies, including Pararge aegeria aegeria, Pararge aegeria tircis, Pararge aegeria oblita, and Pararge aegeria insula. The color of this butterfly varies between subspecies. The existence of these subspecies is due to variation in morphology down a gradient corresponding to a geographic cline. The background of the wings ranges from brown to orange, and the spots are either pale yellow, white, cream, or a tawny orange. The speckled wood feeds on a variety of grass species. The males of this species exhibit two types of mate locating behaviors: territorial defense and patrolling. The proportion of males exhibiting these two strategies changes based on ecological conditions. The monandrous female must choose which type of male can help her reproduce successfully. Her decision is heavily influenced by environmental conditions.
From the Wikipedia article “Speckled wood (butterfly)” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Speckled_wood_%28butterfly%29&oldid=1343430558), 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 speckled wood 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 speckled wood classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumArthropoda
- classInsecta
- orderLepidoptera
- familyNymphalidae
- genusPararge
- SpeciesPararge aegeria (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Coenonympha egerides, Lasiommata aegeria, Lasiommata tircis, Papilio aegeria, Papilio xiphia, Parage aegeria, Pararge aegeria camoena, Pararge aegeria egerides, Pararge aegeria italica, Pararge aegeria sardoa, Pararge aegeria subsp. tircis, Pararge aegeria synexergica, Pararge aegeria tircis, Pararge aegerica, Pararge aestivalis, Pararge alba, Pararge albescens, Pararge albiplaga, Pararge anticoexcessa, Pararge atavica, Pararge bilinea, Pararge caeca, Pararge camoena, Pararge camoenaeformis, Pararge cockaynei, Pararge conjuncta, Pararge diluta, Pararge dilutior, Pararge drumensis, Pararge egeria, Pararge egerides, Pararge egestas, Pararge egestasiformis, Pararge elegantia, Pararge elegantiaeformis, Pararge elongata, Pararge eudokia, Pararge eutaeniata, Pararge evanescens, Pararge fortunata, Pararge fuscelegantia, Pararge helena, Pararge hormuzaki, Pararge infrabrunnea, Pararge infranigrans, Pararge intermedia, Pararge intermedia, Pararge italica, Pararge kerteszi, Pararge kulzcinskii, Pararge latefasciata, Pararge lineolata, Pararge marginata, Pararge megei, Pararge meone, Pararge minima, Pararge monicae, Pararge omnicaeca, Pararge pallida, Pararge parvocellata, Pararge polonica, Pararge postcaeca, Pararge posticoexcessa, Pararge postreducta, Pararge punctata, Pararge reducta, Pararge rozsae, Pararge sardoa, Pararge saturatior, Pararge schmidti, Pararge synexergica, Pararge tenuiplumosa, Pararge tircis, Pararge venata, Pararge vernafusca, Pararge vulgaris, Pararge xiphia, Pararge xiphia xiphioides, Pararge xiphioides, Pyrameis cardui f. infranigrans, Satyrus aegeria, Satyrus tircis
Other names and names in other languages (51)
- Speckled wood butterflyEnglish
- فراشة الغابة المرقطةArabic
- Пъстро парагреBulgarian
- Bruna boscanaCatalan
- okáč pýrovýCzech
- Gweirlöyn BrychWelsh
- Gweirloynod BrychWelsh
- SkovrandøjeDanish
- Skov-marmorøjeDanish
- Skov-randøjeDanish
- LaubfalterGerman
- WaldbrettspielGerman
- Παράργη η αιγερίαGreek
- MaculadaSpanish
- Mariposa de los murosSpanish
- OrasheinasilmikEstonian
- täpläpapurikkoFinnish
- TircisFrench
- Bûnt SâneachjeWestern Frisian
- Breacfhéileacán coilleIrish
- dealbhan breac na coilleScottish Gaelic
- dealbhanan breaca na coilleScottish Gaelic
- apincharada comúnGalician
- Breck ny keylleyManx
- חומית מנומרתHebrew
- LugarCroatian
- erdei szemeslepkeHungarian
- Pararge aegeriaItalian
- EgeriaItalian
- キマダラジャノメJapanese
- 점박이나무나비Korean
- Margasis satyrasLithuanian
- Eglāju samtenisLatvian
- skogringvingeNorwegian Bokmål
- flekkringvingeNorwegian Bokmål
- Bont zandoogjeDutch
- skogringvengNorwegian Nynorsk
- flekkringvengNorwegian Nynorsk
- osadnik egeriaPolish
- ArianaPortuguese
- borboleta-malhadinhaPortuguese
- MalhadinhaPortuguese
- Краеглазка эгерияRussian
- očkáň pýrovýSlovak
- gozdni pegavčekSlovenian
- СенкарSerbian
- SenkarSerbian
- kvickgräsfjärilSwedish
- Karanlık Orman EsmeriTurkish
- Осадець ЕгеріяUkrainian
- 帕眼蝶Chinese
Relatives of the speckled wood
Other species in the same genus Pararge.
CompareSpeckled wood vs Lasiommata hefenganaSpeckled wood vs Lopinga dumetoraSpeckled wood vs Pararge achineSpeckled wood vs Pararge albarufa
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 speckled wood?
The speckled wood is an insect in the butterflies and moths subgroup. It belongs to the order Lepidoptera.
What is the scientific name of the speckled wood?
The scientific name of the speckled wood is Pararge aegeria.
Who named the speckled wood and when?
The speckled wood was named by Linnaeus in 1758, written as (Linnaeus, 1758).
What family does the speckled wood belong to?
The speckled wood belongs to the family Nymphalidae, in the subfamily Satyrinae and tribe Elymniini.
What other names does the speckled wood have?
The speckled wood is also called the speckled wood butterfly.
What genus is the speckled wood in?
The speckled wood is in the genus Pararge, within the superfamily Papilionoidea.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - LepTraits 1.0: a globally comprehensive dataset of butterfly traits · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Shirey, V., Larsen, E., Doherty, A. et al. (2022) LepTraits 1.0: a globally comprehensive dataset of butterfly traits. Scientific Data 9: 382. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-022-01473-5. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.19874602.v1 - TraitCH: a multi-taxa functional trait dataset for Switzerland and Europe · CC BY 4.0 · 2.0
Chauvier, Y., Adde, A., Bergamini, A. et al. (2025) TraitCH: a multi-taxa functional trait dataset for Switzerland and Europe. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15063844 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Speckled wood (Pararge aegeria). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/speckled-wood
“Speckled wood (Pararge aegeria).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/speckled-wood.
@misc{speckled_wood_2026,
title = {Speckled wood (Pararge aegeria)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/speckled-wood},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}