The species rank of Melitaea ornata (type locality Guberlya, Russia) was only very recently recognised by two research groups independently (Russell et al., 2005; Varga et al., 2005).

In a recent molecular study, the M. phoebe group forms a monophyletic clade within the subgenus Didymaeformia (Leneveu et al., 2009[2]).

Another recent study on the morphometry of genitalia in males and females of the phoebe species group provided additional information (Tóth & Varga, 2011[3]).

Recently, it has also been indicated that M. telona sensu stricto from Israel and M. ornata are different taxa (Tóth et al. 2014[4]).

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.