Arran Brown (erebia ligea)
2008 photos highlighted green. Click on any photo to go to an enlarged picture, or simply scroll down the page.
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| 8272_male_Vaud, Switzerland_20Jul07 | 7639_male_Alpes Maritimes_26Jun07 | 8479_female_Haute Savoie_23Jul07 |
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| 8466_female_Haute Savoie_23Jul07 |
Ligea is a large erebia and can be identified by the strongly chequered fringes (not very clear in the worn specimen 8272 above), and the three large white-pupilled upf ocelli in s2, s4/5 (often fused in the female), plus possible ocelli of variable size in s1 and s3. It also has a wide red upf post-discal band of almost constant width from s2 to s6, tapering at s1. The lower end of the altitude range given by Lafranchis is 400m, although I have not encountered it below 1000m, and usually much higher.
It could be confused with the probably erroneously-named (as I find ligea to be larger) Large Ringlet (E. euryale) where the euryale ocelli are usually blind, at least in the nominate form. The euryale form adyte, which occurs in south eastern France and has white-pupilled ocelli and generally more chequered fringes, is more likely to be confused with ligea, where adyte occurs. However, the ligea unh has a clear white streak from the costa to s5, more pronounced in the female, which adyte has not.
This is another misnamed butterfly as there is no conclusive evidence that it ever occurred on the Isle of Arran, and it certainly does not now. Historically, some specimens from the 19th century purport to have been taken on Arran. As the specimens exist, it is unlikely they have been misidentified (the undersides would be definitive), but there may be doubt as to where they were taken. H&R casts doubt on the authenticity of these records, and Lionel Higgins was noted as being very rigorous in his approach. Lowland specimens of the Scotch Argus (E. aethiops), especially the female, can look remarkably like ligea. But the English names tend to stick, right or wrong. Like Bath White, Camberwell Beauty, Essex Skipper, Lulworth Skipper, etc.
8272: the relatively narrow upf red post-discal band indicates male. The strong white-pupilled ocelli indicate ligea quite clearly. 8272 has a clear ocellus in s3, not always present, and not shown in T&L. Altitude 1440m.
7639: a male, based on the limited amount of the white unh post-discal markings, compared to the female which generally has a much longer and wider mark here. I did wonder if it could be euryale form adyte, but the white mark is clear (male adyte has virtually none) and the strong unh pupilled ocelli confirm ligea. Altitude 1875m.
8479: clearly a female based on body shape and the four huge upf post-discal ocelli with large clear white centres. The edges of the red post-discal bands on both wings are quite jagged. Altitude 1410m.
8466: clearly a female, based on the length of the unh white mark, although it could be mistaken for euryale form adyte (the white mark is much larger than that shown in T&L for ligea) except for the very well-developed unh ocelli which clearly point to ligea. Altitude 1410m.
8272_male_Vaud, Switzerland_20Jul07
7639_male_Alpes Maritimes_26Jun07
8479_female_Haute Savoie_23Jul07
8466_female_Haute Savoie_23Jul07
