10182_female_Var_2May08
10183_female_Var_2May08
Spring Ringlet (erebia epistygne)
2008 photos highlighted green. Click on any photo to go to an enlarged picture, or simply scroll down the page.
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10182_female_Var_2May08 |
10183_female_Var_2May08 |
A rather scarce early season erebia that I saw for the first time in 2008 at one location in the deserted rocky wilderness of northern Var. It is quite large with pale post-discal bands and lots of large bold ocelli, quite visible in flight, I found. Its principal flight period is April and this specimen looked quite worn when I saw it on 2 May. The early flight period means that confusion with any other erebia is almost impossible, as erebia generally do not emerge until July or later, with only one or two exceptions. Epistygne flies over rocky terrain at altitudes usually over 500m, and is therefore rather difficult to follow, so I considered myself fortunate to get close enough for any photograph.
10182: a rather worn female, as indicated by the ocelli in s1 and s2 that the male does not have. Altitude 920m.
10183: the underside of 10182. Altitude 920m.
