De Prunner's Ringlet (erebia triaria)

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2008 photos highlighted green. Click on any photo to go to an enlarged picture, or simply scroll down the page.

6900_male_Alpes Maritimes_10Jun07	05_17-34_male_Hautes Alpes_5Jun05

Quite similar to the Piedmont Ringlet (E. meolans), and to some extent Scotch Argus (E. aethiops), but the red post-discal band on the upf is quite wide at the costa tapering toward the anal angle. There are white-pupilled ocelli in s2-s6 and the smaller ocellus in s6 (see 6900) is generally present and in line with the larger ocelli in s4 and s5. However, meolans sometimes has an ocellus in s6 that is distinctly not aligned with the other two. Tim Cowles says that the key is the central positioning of the ocelli within the red post-discal band, including the s6 ocellus which is reasonably centred in triaria but toward the outer edge of the post-discal band in meolans. In pictures I have seen of meolans that has an ocellus in s6, the ocellus is always at the top/outer edge of the post-discal band (as Tim says, "trying to escape").

6900: I believe this to be a male based on its behaviour of taking salts, although the upf red post-discal band is very wide on both wings, suggesting female, and T&L shows the male as having a constriction at upf s3, which 6900 clearly does not have. The ground colour is quite a light brown, or appears to be, but this may be because it was quite a dull day and the photo had to be lightened considerably. The ocelli in s2-6 are very strong and those in s4/5 and almost fused completely (again suggesting female) and the large s6 ocellus is perfectly in line with them, the clear indicator of triaria. The external edges of the uph red post-discal marks are quite concave whereas T&L shows them as flat to convex. Altitude 1875m.

05_17-34: a typical dark, male underside.

6900_male_Alpes Maritimes_10Jun07