Pyrénées Brassy Ringlet (Erebia rondoui)
2023 photographs highlighted in green. Click on any photograph to go to an enlarged picture, or simply scroll down the page.
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| 38801_male_Hautes-Pyrénées_21Jul15 | 38832_male_Hautes-Pyrénées_21Jul15 | 44087_male_Hautes-Pyrénées_10Jul17 | 44096_male_Hautes-Pyrénées_10Jul17 |
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| 51320_male_Hautes-Pyrénées_7Jul23 | 05_25-05_female_Vall d'Aran, Spain_26Jul05 | 44095_male_Hautes-Pyrénées_10Jul17 | 38809_male_Hautes-Pyrénées_21Jul15 |
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| 05_26-34_female_Vall d'Aran, Spain_26Jul05 |
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This was a first for me in 2005. I believe that these are all rondoui which until recently was regarded as a form of the Spanish Brassy Ringlet (E. hispania). Tristan Lafranchis, in his latest book on identifying European species, divided hispania into two distinct species, hispania occurring in the Sierra Nevada in southern Spain, and rondoui now being described as the "Pyrénées Brassy Ringlet" confined to the Pyrénées, and I have followed this classification, and it was confirmed in the taxonomic revision of 2017. |
The females on this page were seen in 2005 just on the Spanish side of the Pyrénées, at 2070m.
However, on a return visit to this location in 2015, the whole area had been
grazed to extinction and almost no butterflies were seen.
It is quite easy to identify as the upf twin ocelli differentiate it from all other smallish Erebia in that locality. The twin upf ocelli are fused, although not as closely fused in these photographs as in the illustrations in T&L. |
| ref | sex |
observations |
alt. m |
| 38801 | M | a male, based on its behaviour and what can be seen of the body shape, although the upf red post-discal band surrounding the ocelli is rather broad and extends down almost to s1, perhaps suggesting female. | 2070 |
| 38832 | M | a very dark male, as body shape almost certainly confirms, with a very restricted upf red post-discal band. The ocelli are very bright, especially on the uph, which would tend to suggest female. | 2070 |
| 44087 | M | a male, in typical pose with the forewings partially folded down. It is fresh and the reflective brassy sheen is very apparent. | 2120 |
| 44096 | M | a male, with the forewings almost completely folded down. | 2120 |
| 51320 | M | a male, very clearly showing the "brassy" greenish reflection. | 2070 |
| 05_25-05 | F |
a female, from the body size and because the upf post-discal band extends into the discal area. |
2070 |
| 44095 | M | a male enjoying the delights of a sheep crotte. The discal line is just discernible, although more apparent than the illustrations in books. | 2120 |
| 38809 | M | a male underside, with a very vestigial unh discal line and generally almost unmarked. | 2070 |
| 05_26-34 | F |
a female, the underside being slightly browner and having a clear discal line, at least in the upper part of the unh. |
2070 |
38801_male_Hautes-Pyrénées_21Jul15
38832_male_Hautes-Pyrénées_21Jul15
44087_male_Hautes-Pyrénées_10Jul17
44096_male_Hautes-Pyrénées_10Jul17
51320_male_Hautes-Pyrénées_7Jul23
05_25-05_female_Vall d'Aran, Spain_26Jul05
44095_male_Hautes-Pyrénées_10Jul17
38809_male_Hautes-Pyrénées_21Jul15
05_26-34_female_Vall d'Aran, Spain_26Jul05
