The
wingspan is . Dark russet-brown, so strongly marked with black that the ground-colour is reduced in the female to very small spots. On the whole similar to
Melitaea athalia, but smaller, with the black markings deeper in tint and heavier, the ground-colour darker, more brownish; beneath the marginal line before the fringes is absent or but very indistinct. The species is recognizable by the palpi bearing foxy red hairs, while the palpi of
athalia are whitish, being occasionally somewhat reddish yellow and then only at the base. Melitaea aurelia MHNT CUT 2013 3 28 Pont Gerendoine dorsal.jpg|Male Melitaea aurelia MHNT CUT 2013 3 28 Pont Gerendoine ventral.jpg|Male underside == Biology ==