Erebia callias

Erebia callias
Erebia callias
Upperside
Underside
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Nymphalidae
Genus: Erebia
Species: Erebia callias
Binomial name
Erebia callias
Edwards, 1871

The Colorado Alpine (Erebia callias) is a member of the Satyridae subfamily of Nymphalidae. It is found in alpine Wyoming and Colorado in the Rocky Mountains as well as various mountain ranges in eastern Asia.

The wingspan is 35-38 mm. The upperside is dull gray-brown with a slight luster. Two eye-spots are near the tip both above and below on the forewing. These are usually located in a red patch. The underside of the hind wing is silver-gray with very small dark markings.

The larvae probably feed on grasses and sedges.

Subspecies

  • Erebia callias callias (Rocky Mountains)
  • Erebia callias sibirica Staudinger, 1881 (Saur, Tarbagatai Mountains)
  • Erebia callias altajana Staudinger, 1901 (Altai Mountains)
  • Erebia callias simulata Warren, 1933 (Sayan Mountains)
  • Erebia callias tsherskiensis Dubatolov, 1992 (Far East)

Taxonomy

Erebia callias has been lumped with the Siberian brassy ringlets as they are almost alike morphologically. Though one might suspect stronger differentiation and perhaps marked cryptic speciation across the wide range, the Rocky Mountains population is apparently a very recent isolate. Its ancestors apparently crossed over the Bering Strait at the end of the Wisconsinian glaciation, about 15.000-10.000 years ago.

External links

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