A new species of Melitaea from Israel, with notes on taxonomy, cytogenetics, phylogeography and interspecific hybridization in the Melitaea persea complex (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae)

Melitaea acentria sp. n. and M. persea persea. Photos by V. Lukhtanov a M. acentria sp. n., holotype, male, sample 17949_A06, Israel, Mt. Hermon; upperside b M. acentria sp. n., holotype, male, sample 17949_A06, Israel, Mt. Hermon; underside c M. acentria sp. n., paratype, male, sample 25453_E09, Israel, Mt. Hermon d M. acentria sp. n., paratype, female, sample 25453_E11, Israel, Mt. Hermon e M. persea persea, male, 17966_A10, Iran, Fars prov., Fasa area, 20 km W Estahban, 2200 m, 9-11 May 2007, B. Denno coll., MGCL accession # 2010-20 f M. persea persea, female, 17951_B01, Iran, Fars prov., 20 km N Darab, 2100-2300 m, 24.05.1999, leg. P. Hofmann, MGCLg M. persea persea, male, 17966_A11, Iran, Fars prov., Fasa area, 20 km W Estahban, 2200 m, 9–11.05.2007, MGCL accession # 2008-43 h M. persea persea, male, 17951_B02, Iran, Char Mahall-o-Bahtiyari, Umg. Shahr-e-Kord, 2000 m, 28 May 2002, leg. P. Hofmann, MGCL. Scale bar corresponds to 10 mm in all figures.