Meadow Brown

There is marked sexual dimorphism in this species. The upperside of the male is uniformly light brown with a black ocellus centered white at the apex of the forewing, while the female has a tawny patch more or less extended around this ocella. The underside forewing is ochre-colored bordered with dark beige with the same ocelli at the apex in the male, while the hindwing is greyish to brown with a more or less orange band in the female. The males are also much more active and range far about, while females fly less and often may not move away from the area where they grew up.

Because of the vast distribution habitats are hard to define but broadly are forest edge, forest-steppe and meadow steppe habitats up to 2,000 m above sea level, cultivated lands (meadow, forest plantations, parks and orchards).

Recorded larval food plants include rough meadow grass (Poa trivialis), smooth meadow grass (Poa pratensis), Festuca species, bents (Agrostis species), and cock's-foot (Dactylis glomerata), false brome (Brachypodium sylvaticum), downy oat-grass and Helictotrichon pubescens. Less specific records of Poa, Bromus, Festuca, Milium, Brachypodium, Lolium, Avena, Alopecurus and Anthoxanthum. Adults feed on nectar from a wide spectrum of plants including Centaurea, Cirsium, Leontodon, Erica, Rubus, Heracleum, Eupatorium, (sensu lato) Origanum, Senecio, Scabiosa, Succisa, Ligustrum and Filipendula.