LEPIDOPTERA

• H E S P E R I I D A E Latreille, 1809

  • PYRGUS Hubner, [1819]

    
    

    • Pyrgus carthami (Hubner, [1813])

Pyrgus carthami moeschleri Herrich-Schaffer, 1854

• TYPE LOCALITY. [S. Germany] (selection by Alberti, 1938).

• RANGE. From S. Europe to Asia Minor and W. Siberia.

• DISTRIBUTION AND VARIATION. The S. European part (including the Crimea and the S. Urals), N. Kazakhstan, SW. Siberia. Represented by the ssp. moeschleri Herrich-Schaffer, 1854 which, in the west (Hungary), is transitional to the nominate subspecies.

• HABITATS AND BIOLOGY. Steppe habitats up to 2,500 m a.s.l. Flight period: May-August in a single generation depending on the locality. Host plants (de Jong, 1972): Potentilla (P. pedata, P. neumanniana, P. argentea), Malva sylvestris, Althaea officinalis, A. hirsuta, Centaurea. Hibernation larval.

• SIMILAR SPECIES. P. serratulae major. UPS and UNS whitish suffusion less intensive, UNH darker.

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