Meadow Brown

Name: Meadow Brown

Scientific name: Maniola jurtina

Category: Minibeasts

Nature Stars: 30

What are nature stars?

About: A medium sized butterfly, brown with washed out orange patches on the forewings. Wingspan measures about 5.5 cm. Adults are one of the commonest grassland butterflies, on the wing in the summer, May to October. Caterpillars feed on a variety of grasses.

How to identify: The best way to identify the 'brown' butterflies is by looking at the eye spots on their wings. The combination of relatively large size with orange patches on the fore wings only, together with one eye spot on the fore wing and none at all on the rear wings is unique to the Meadow Brown.

Where: Found throughout the country.

Natural Superpowers

• Predator: 10
• Agility: 70
• Rarity: 20
• Cute factor: 40
• Traveller: 50

Fantastic fact: Males are much more active than females, who spend much of their time sat on the ground hidden amongst the grass.

Photograph credit: Keith Warmington/www.warmies.co.uk