Marbled Ringlet (erebia montana)
2008 photos highlighted green. Click on any photo to go to an enlarged picture, or simply scroll down the page.
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| 3340_male_Alpes Maritimes_29Jul06 | 3332_male_Alpes Maritimes_29Jul06 | 3395_female_Alpes Maritimes_29Jul06 |
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| 3356_female_Alpes Maritimes_29Jul06 |
A late emerger, coming out in mid-July and restricted to the eastern Alpine départements of France, its lower altitude limit being 1400m. I had not seen it before 2006, and only in one remote location then, when it was about the only species present. It was rather smaller than I had expected but very appealing when fresh. I saw only a few males and one female. It was a hot day (29 July) and it appears that the male above was keen to exchange some sweat from my finger (amazing how many butterflies just want to land on warm, sticky humans) for a photo opportunity, although it really needs two hands on the camera to get a decent shot. The upperside is quite similar to the Autumn Ringlet (E. neoridas) but the uph ocelli are much more pronounced, and the underside, from which the butterfly gets its English name, is different from nearly every other erebia, and the female as usual is lighter.
3340: male upperside, the narrow width of the red upf band indicating male. The uph ocelli are very close to the bottom edge of the red post-discal series of somewhat jagged patches, unlike most book illustrations. Similarly, the books show a upf ocellus in s2, not present here. Altitude 1800m.
3332: the darker male underside, with the unmistakeable "marbling" effect. Altitude 1800m.
3395: a female, with the characteristic wider red upf post-discal band than the male. Altitude 1800m.
3356: the typical female underside, lighter and more obviously "marbled". Altitude 1800m.
3340_male_Alpes Maritimes_29Jul06
3332_male_Alpes Maritimes_29Jul06
3395_female_Alpes Maritimes_29Jul06
3356_female_Alpes Maritimes_29Jul06
