Erebia alberganus, the almond ringlet or almond-eyed ringlet, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae.
| Almond ringlet | |
|---|---|
| |
| Upperside | |
| |
| Female, underside | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Nymphalidae |
| Genus: | Erebia |
| Species: | E. alberganus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Erebia alberganus | |
Subspecies
editDistribution and habitat
editThis 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
edit
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] Wheeler (1903) gives a short description (as ceto) [7]
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Erebia alberganus ♂ -
Erebia alberganus ♂ △
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_Erebia_alberganus_-_Champol%C3%A9on_France_-_male_ventral.jpg)
Biology
editCaterpillars 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
edit- ^ a b c "Erebia Dalman, 1816" at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
- ^ a b c Guide des papillons d'Europe et d'Afrique du Nord de Tom Tolman, Richard Lewington, éditions Delachaux et Niestlé, 1998 - (ISBN 2603011146)
- ^ a b c d Almond Eyed Ringlet, European Butterflies
- ^ a b IUCN
- ^ Butterflies and Moths – A Photographic Guide to British and European Butterflies and Moths
- ^ Butterflies of France
- ^ Wheeler, George.The butterflies of Switzerland and the alps of central Europe. London: Elliot Stock, 1903. pdf
External links
edit- Paolo Mazzei, Daniel Morel, Raniero Panfili Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa
- Butterfly Guide Archived 2019-07-22 at the Wayback Machine
- Almond-eyed ringlet, UK Butterflies