Erebia rossii

"Arctic alpine" redirects here. For the species who live in such an environment, see Arctic–alpine.

Ross's alpine
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Erebia
Species:	E. rossii
Binomial name
Erebia rossii Curtis, 1835[1]
Synonyms
Erebia rossii ab. pallida Goltz, 1930 Erebia rossii ab. nigra Goltz, 1930 Erebia rossii var. erda Sheljuzhko, 1924 Erebia rossii var. ero Bremer, 1861 Erebia rossii var. dzhelindae Sheljuzhko, 1925 Erebia rossii var. polyopis Sheljuzhko, 1919

Erebia rossii, the Arctic alpine[1] or Ross's alpine,[2] is a member of the subfamily Satyrinae of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Arctic North America and northern Eurasia.

Description

The wingspan is 31–44 mm. The dorsal wings are blackish brown. The forewing in the male has two black eyespots with white pupils sometimes surrounded by one or two orange rings. The male's hindwing has no spots or a partial row of very small spots. The female has two large eyespots and may have smaller spots on both wings. The ventral hindwings have greyish median bands with jagged borders.[2]

Subspecies

Listed alphabetically:[1]

• E. r. erda Sheljuzhko, 1924 (Sajan mountains)
• E. r. ero Bremer, 1861 (eastern Siberia, Dzhugdzhur Mountains)
• E. r. gabrieli dos Passos, 1949 (Alaska)
• E. r. kuskoquima Holland, 1931 (Kuskoquim Valley)
• E. r. ornata Leussler, 1935 (Manitoba)
• E. r. subarctica Korshunov, 1996 (mountains of Yakutia and Chukotka)

Life cycle

The food plants of the larvae are various grasses, including Carex species.[1]

References

1. "Erebia Dalman, 1816" at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
2. Ross's Alpine (Erebia rossii) (Curtis, 1835), Butterflies of Canada