Erebia alberganus

Erebia alberganus, the almond ringlet or almond-eyed ringlet, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae.

Almond ringlet
Upperside
Female, underside
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family:
Nymphalidae
Genus:
Erebia
Species:
E. alberganus
Binomial name
Erebia alberganus
(Prunner, 1798)[1]

Subspecies
  • Erebia alberganus alberganus (Prunner, 1798)
  • Erebia alberganus phorcys (Freyer, 1836) (Bulgaria)[1][2]

Distribution and habitat

This species can be found in the alpine regions of France, Italy, Switzerland, and Austria, in the mountains of central Italy and in some mountains of the northern Balkans. These butterflies live in flowery meadows, clearings, grassy places, amongst scrub or woodland, at an elevation of 1,000–2,200 metres (3,300–7,200 ft) above sea level.[3][4]

Description
Mating pair

Erebia alberganus has a wingspan of 40 mm. These small butterflies have dark brown wings, with a series of distinctive postdiscal oval or almond shaped (hence the common name) orange markings containing small black spots with white highlights. The two sides of the wings are identical.[3][5] The females usually are slightly larger and lighter brown than the males. Moreover, the eyespots have small white centres.[6]

This species is rather similar to a woodland ringlet but has smaller eyespots.[3]

Biology

Caterpillars feed on Gramineae, Poa annua, sheep's fescue (Festuca ovina) and sweet vernal-grass (Anthoxanthum odoratum).[2] When they are half-grown they hibernate. They pupate at the following spring.[1][4] Adults fly from mid-June to August.[2][3]

References
  1. "Erebia Dalman, 1816" at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
  2. Guide des papillons d'Europe et d'Afrique du Nord de Tom Tolman, Richard Lewington, éditions Delachaux et Niestlé, 1998 - (ISBN 2603011146)
  3. Almond Eyed Ringlet, European Butterflies
  4. IUCN
  5. Butterflies and Moths – A Photographic Guide to British and European Butterflies and Moths
  6. Butterflies of France


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