Scotch
Argus
2011 photos highlighted in green. Click on any photo to go to an enlarged picture, or simply scroll down the page.
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| 18051_male_Isère_12Jul09 | 18182_male_Isère_12Jul09 | 23342_male_Côte-d'Or_28Jul10 |
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| 27844_male_Doubs_25Jul11 | 3997_female_Haute-Marne_17Aug06 | 23333_male_Vaud, Switzerland_27Jul10 |
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| 18058_male_Isère_12Jul09 | 27506_female_Isère_18Jul11 |
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The upf post-discal band is bright red, and the ground colour is dark brown to black with velvety appearance, especially in the male, more so when fresh when the patch of androconial (scent) scales area is clearly darker. The post-discal band is often constricted at s3 with clear white-pupilled ocelli in s2, s4 and s5, and possibly s3. The band often appears to "hug" the ocelli in s4 and s5 and form almost a close red circle around these ocelli. The red band is usually cut at the veins and the external edges are sometimes concave. The uph red marks are usually discrete and often straight edged at the base with the ocelli almost touching the lower edges. The female upf red band is often wider and the ocelli larger. |
The unh post-discal band is usually sufficiently defined in the male, having a speckled or "irrorated" appearance, shown in most books as more distinctive than those on this page. The female underside is generally lighter and the post-discal band better contrasted. Lafranchis says the defining aethiops characteristic is the unh series of three to four small white spots, but 3990 clearly has only one, in s2. The subtitle of his ID book is "Identifying butterflies is easy", and whilst the book is excellent and a must for all butterfly enthusiasts, the variability of species often makes ID very difficult, if not impossible. Aethiops is not uncommon in suitable mountainous regions, but also occurs at much lower altitudes than most other Erebia (Lafranchis says 200m) in central and eastern France. |
| ref | sex |
observations |
alt. m |
| 18051 | M |
a rather more typical upf post-discal band, "hugging" the ocelli and "waisted" (albeit only slightly) in s3. |
1120 |
| 18182 | M |
I am not 100% certain that this is aethiops, but the black velvety appearance of the upf suggests that it is, the upf red band rather hugs the ocelli (albeit rather wide around the ocelli in s4 and s5) and just about enough of the speckled band on the unh is visible. The fact that the vein cuts the band between s2 and s3 is slightly indicative of the Piedmont Ringlet (E. meolans) but in meolans, the post-discal band is more clearly broken into sections. |
1120 |
| 23342 | M |
a male, from the same location as 8065, and looking very similar. |
320 |
| 27844 | M | a classic male aethiops, the upf post-discal red band being nice and rounded, following the contours of the ocelli and constricting in the middle at s3. | 1150 |
| 3997 | F |
the upf post-discal band and ocelli are much wider in 3997 than in the T&L illustration, and the ocellus in s2 is right at the external edge of the band. There is also a smudgy blind ocellus in s3. The uph ocelli are right at the bases of the post-discal red patches. However, there is no doubt that it is aethiops, and just another example of how variable some species can be. |
365 |
| 23333 | M |
a male, two of the white spots clearly visible, the other two being poorly developed. The post-discal band is a little more distinct here than it is 22787. |
1850 |
| 18058 | M |
probably more typical of a male underside, with the post-discal band being clear. |
1120 |
| 27506 | F | a female, with clear contrast between the unh bands, and two strongish (for a female) ocelli in s2 and s3. | 1120 |
3997_female_Haute-Marne_17Aug06
23333_male_Vaud, Switzerland_27Jul10
