''Kirinia climene'', the Iranian Argus, is a

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprise ...

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 ...

. It was described by

Eugenius Johann Christoph Esper Eugenius Johann Christoph Esper (2 June 1742 – 27 July 1810) was a German zoologist and naturalist. Born in Wunsiedel in Bavaria, he was professor of zoology at Erlangen university. Life and work Eugen and his brother Friedrich were intro ...

in 1783. It is distributed in Bulgaria, Romania, Yugoslavia, Macedonia, Turkey, Caucasus, Transcaucasia, Syria, Iraq, Iran and southern Russia.

Description in Seitz

''P. climene'' Esp. (= ''clymene'' 0. ''synclimene'' Hbn.) (45c). Much smaller than the preceding ''roxelana'' the hindwing not so large as compared with the forewing as in ''roxelana'', with the distal margin non-dentate. Ocelli of the hindwing beneath much smaller and less distinct on a unicolorous ground. On the lower parts of the Danube and Volga, in South Russia, Turkey and Asia Minor, said to occur also in the Altai-district. — ''roxandra'' H.-Schiff. (= ''caucasica'' Nordm.) from Armenia, is beneath brighter and more variegated, there being a white silky spot at the apex of the cell of the hindwing. — The butterflies occur in May and June: they are true insects of the steppes, being also not rare in the plains, especially in stony places, and resemble an ''Epinephele'' when on the wing.

Biology

The species inhabits mostly open forests, glades, rocky clearings, embankments and meadows in the elevation range from 1500 to 2300 metres above sea level. The larval host-plants are various ''

grasses Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns ...

'', including ''

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 ...

''. The eggs are not stuck to the host plant but fall among the foliage. The first

instar An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'', "form", "likeness") is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, between each moult (''ecdysis''), until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to grow or ...

caterpillar may aestivate until the autumn, at which time it feeds to some extent before overwintering. It feeds again more vigorously in the spring, before

pupa A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in thei ...

ting in June. The butterflies are on the wing from early July until mid-August. In summer, they are often observed on flowers. When it is hot they prefer shaded areas under tree canopies or in high grasses and often settle on branches and tree trunks, where they are well-camouflaged.

Subspecies

*''Kirinia climene climene'' *''Kirinia climene roxandra'' (Herrich-Schäffer,

850 ''For codepage, see CP850.'' __NOTOC__ Year 850 ( DCCCL) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * February 1 – King Ramiro I dies in his palac ...

(Caucasus, Transcausia)

References

External links

Butterfly Conservation ArmeniaLepiforum.de
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q2979260, from2=Q97792681 Kirinia Butterflies described in 1783 Taxa named by Eugenius Johann Christoph Esper