Recently, it has also been indicated that "M. telona" "sensu stricto" from Israel and "M. ornata" are different taxa (Tóth et al. 2014). Previous morphometrical studies have already revealed small differences in the genital structures of the males (Tóth et al. 2013; Tóth and Varga 2011) but the authors interpreted the difference as a well-pronounced intra-specific difference. In contrast, molecular data clearly showed that the two taxa are genetically distinct from each other. Based on the results of the analysis of seven genes, Tóth et al. (2014) concluded that "M. telona" is not a subspecies of "M. ornata" but a species in its own right. "M. ornata" larvae have a brick-red head from the fourth larval instar and they are monophagous or oligophagous, feeding on different Asteraceae species, mainly on regionally different, sometime local endemic "Centaurea" species. "M. phoebe" on the other hand is oligophagous and its head capsule is always black.