Female oviposition depends largely on the size of host plant as well as density of vegetation cover. Studies have shown that females prefer to lay eggs on large host plants as opposed to smaller plants. This is to prevent food shortage and starvation of the larvae. Also, sparse, open vegetation structure is favored over dense, thick grasslands when the host plant "S. pratensis" is used for oviposition. The presence of a tall non-host plant (e.g. "Deschampsia caespitosa") is negatively correlated with egg nests. Therefore, abandoned meadows with lime-rich soil have been identified as oviposition sites. Often, "E. aurinia" will lay eggs at edges of such meadows because the vegetation structure and plant height fit the female butterfly preference for oviposition. For such reasons, croplands are generally favored over meadows for oviposition because croplands tend to have concentrated numbers of large-sized host plants.