''Erebia melampus'', the lesser mountain ringlet, is a member of the subfamily

Satyrinae The Satyrinae, the satyrines or satyrids, commonly known as the browns, are a subfamily of the Nymphalidae (brush-footed butterflies). They were formerly considered a distinct family, Satyridae. This group contains nearly half of the known divers ...

of the family

Nymphalidae The Nymphalidae are the largest family of butterflies, with more than 6,000 species distributed throughout most of the world. Belonging to the superfamily Papilionoidea, they are usually medium-sized to large butterflies. Most species have a red ...

Distribution and habitat

This European

endemic species Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

occurs in the Alps from the

Maritime Alps The Maritime Alps (french: Alpes Maritimes ; it, Alpi Marittime ) are a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps. They form the border between the regions of France, French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur and the regions of Italy ...

to eastern

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

(

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarchy ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and

). It prefers grassy places, in woodland or in open areas, at an elevation of above sea level.IUCN
/ref>Eurobutterflies
/ref>

Description

The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...

is 30–36 mm.Captain's European Butterfly Guide
/ref> These small butterflies have brown wings. Forewings show a postmedian band of orange oval to round markings containing small black spots. Hindwings have three or four postdiscal eyespots.

Description in Seitz

''E. melampus'' Fuessl. (= ''janthe'' Hbn., ''aetherius'' Esp., ''arete'' Bell.) (36 b). One of the commonest Erebias of the Alps. Other districts where it occurs are the Pyrenees, the High Tatra and the western and southern Carpathian Mts. The ground-colour is black-brown, the margin reddish grey, the antenna blackish above, whitish grey beneath. The forewing has a russet macular band, interrupted by the veins, bearing in the same 2—3, more rarely 4 black ocelli. On the hindwing there are before the distal margin 3—4 ovate ferruginous spots which bear black dots. The underside is paler, more reddish grey, the band and spots being distinct. The wings of the female are more elongate, the ground-colour and band being lighter than in the male. — On the Altvater in Silesia there occurs the form ''sudetica'' Stgr. (36b); it differs from the alpine form in the distal band of the forewing being broader and lighter and bearing regularly 4, sometimes even 5 black dots, and in the ferruginous yellow spots of the hindwing being larger and being more prominent than in name-typical ''melampus''. — Egg elliptic, longitudinally ribbed, sulphur-yellow, becoming reddish grey before emergence. Larva clay-colour before the last moult, then bright green, with dark dorsal line which is finely bordered with light colour, and with indistinct lighter subdorsal lines which are edged with dark; a lateral stripe light green, above the same the small orange stigmata. Reared on ''Poa annua''. Pupa pale yellowish grey, with darker markings; free on the ground. The butterflies are on the wing in July and August, flying often in great abundance on the grassy alpine meadows and occurring up to 2600 m, their flight being low, slow and straight on.Eiffinger, G. in Seitz. A. ed. Band 1: Abt. 1, ''Die Großschmetterlinge des palaearktischen Faunengebietes, Die palaearktischen Tagfalter'', 1909, 379 Seiten, mit 89 kolorierten Tafeln (3470 Figuren)

Biology

Adults are on wing from July to September. The larvae feed on various ''

Festuca ''Festuca'' (fescue) is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the grass family Poaceae (subfamily Pooideae). They are evergreen or herbaceous perennial tufted grasses with a height range of and a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring on every ...

'' and ''

Poa ''Poa'' is a genus of about 570 species of grasses, native to the temperate regions of both hemispheres. Common names include meadow-grass (mainly in Europe and Asia), bluegrass (mainly in North America), tussock (some New Zealand species), a ...

'' species (''

Poa annua ''Poa annua'', or annual meadow grass (known in America more commonly as annual bluegrass or simply poa), is a widespread low-growing turfgrass in temperate climates. Notwithstanding the reference to annual plant in its name, perennial bio-types ...

'', ''

Poa nemoralis ''Poa nemoralis'', the wood bluegrass, is a perennial plant in the family Poaceae. The late-growing grass is fairly nutritious for livestock, which feed on it in the autumn, and it is used as a lawn grass for shady situations. Description It fo ...

'', ''

Festuca ovina ''Festuca ovina'', sheep's fescue or sheep fescue, is a species of grass. It is sometimes confused with hard fescue (''Festuca trachyphylla''). General description It is a perennial plant sometimes found in acidic ground, and in mountain pastur ...

''), as well as ''

Anthoxanthum odoratum ''Anthoxanthum odoratum'', known as sweet vernal grass, is a short-lived perennial grass that is native to acidic grassland in Eurasia and northern Africa. It is grown as a lawn grass and a house plant, due to its sweet scent, and can also be f ...

''. File:Erebia melampus.jpg

References

Bibliography

*Guide des papillons d'Europe et d'Afrique du Nord de Tom Tolman, Richard Lewington, éditions Delachaux et Niestlé, 1998 - ()

External links

Pieris.ch
* Paolo Mazzei, Daniel Morel, Raniero Panfil

* ttp://www.lepiforum.de/lepiwiki.pl?Erebia_Melampus Lepiforum.de Erebia Butterflies of Europe Butterflies described in 1775 Taxa named by Johann Kaspar Füssli {{Satyrini-stub