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LEPIDOPTERA

Pyrgus centaureae (Rambur, [1839])
Pyrgus centaureae (Rambur, [1839])

• TYPE LOCALITY. "Dalecarlie" [Dalarne, Norway].

• RANGE. N. Europe and Asia from Fennoscandia to the Chukot Peninsula, the mountains of Siberia and N. Mongolia; N. America.

• DISTRIBUTION AND VARIATION. The N. European part, the Altai, the Sayan Mts., N. Transbaikalia, E. Siberia and the Far East to the Chukot and Kamchatka peninsulas. The spotting pattern and whitish dusting of UPS variable. Mostly represented by the nominate subspecies, but geographical variation needs further studies due to the great range of individual variation.

• HABITATS AND BIOLOGY. Moors and tundras up to 2,600 m a.s.l. Flight period: June-July in a single generation. Host plants: in Europe, Rubus chamaemorus, in Siberia also Fragaria and Potentilla (Gorbunov, Korshunov, 1995).

• SIMILAR SPECIES. P. sibirica, P. andromedae: FW more strongly pointed, UPS white dusting intensive, UNH ground colour lightened and spots less conspicuous, the central discal spot extended basad.

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

fig 4

Fig. Male genitalia of the Pyrgus malvae- (right clasp, uncus and gnatos), centaureae- and alpinus-groups (right clasp):
1 - P. malvae malvae (Sumy Reg., Ukraine);
2 - P. melotis ponticus (Armenia);
3 - P. centaureae (Aktash, S. Altai);
4 - P. sibirica (Aktash, S. Altai);
5 - P. alpinus alichurensis (SE. Pamirs);
6 - P. darwazicus celsimontius (E. Pamirs);
7 - P. cashmirensis pumilus (Shugnansky Mts., W. Pamirs)