LEPIDOPTERA

Muschampia proteus (Staudinger, 1886)
Muschampia proteus (Staudinger, 1886)

• TYPE LOCALITY. "Margilan" [Alai, Middle Asia].

• SYNONYMS: epimetheus Mabille, 1909

• RANGE. Mountains of Middle Asia and Afghanistan.

• DISTRIBUTION AND VARIATION. Alai, Turkestansky, Ghissarsky Mts., W. and central Tian-Shan. Both individual and, partly, geographical variations are considerable, but no clear-cut subspecies can be distinguished.

• HABITATS AND BIOLOGY. Mountains at 1,550-3,000 m a.s.l. Flight period: May-July depending on the altitude.

• SIMILAR SPECIES. M. prometheus: UNH light red without submarginal spots. M. staudingeri UPS submarginal spots distinct; genitalia different (Fig.).

Photo and text: Guide to the BUTTERFLIES OF RUSSIA and adjacent territories Volume 1. PENSOFT, Sofia - Moscow. 1997

fig 3

Fig. Male genitalia of the staudingen- (right clasp and aedeagus) and the /w^w-groups (right clasp, uncus and gnatos): 1 - Muschampia staudingeri''(W. Kopet-Dagh); 2 - M. prometheus (Gissarsky Mts.); 3 - M. proteus (Katran-Too Mts., Alai); 4 - M. lutulenta ("Samarkand"); 5 - M. poggei (Armenia)