[5][6] Distinguishing features of Carcharodus alceae are the toothed hind wing edge and the small "glass spots" (unscaled areas) on the forewings with a black-brown basic color.

Evidence in previously unpopulated areas of Central Europe clearly indicates that C. alceae is currently in a phase of spreading.

Other habitats include fallow land, especially industrial wasteland, roadsides and arable fields that have been sown with seed mixtures, and oviposition also take place regularly in gardens and on the edge of vineyards.

In the Neumarkt / Oberpfalz district in Germany, for example, it has been possible to detect the species both as a butterfly and as a caterpillar in almost all of the larger grassland areas over the past ten years, albeit mostly only in low density.

In addition to their appearance in gardens, they have led to the fact that the way of life of the larva of C. alceae was already known to Maria Sibylla Merian in the 17th century.

At arid locations in the Middle Jura as well as on the edges of vineyards in the Steigerwald, oviposition on Malva neglecta has been demonstrated.

On the embankments of the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal, Lavatera thuringiaca, which is spread here in large numbers, is accepted as a food plant.

Wintering does not take place on the food plants, but it is apparently still unknown where exactly the caterpillars spend the cold season (presumably in the litter).

Their flight time is heavily dependent on the annual weather conditions and ranges from mid-April to early September.

The transition from the first to the second generation is fluid in the overall view of all years, with the number of butterfly finds declining significantly in early / mid-June.

[7][4][9] The larger grazed limestone grass complexes with regular dynamic processes play a key role in the protection of this species.

An increased creation of field margins or diverse fallow areas, on the other hand, could have a positive effect on the population.