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LEPIDOPTERA

Argynnis xipe Grum-Grshimailo, 1891
Argynnis xipe Grum-Grshimailo, 1891

• TYPE LOCALITY. «In regione Amdo dicta, in montibus Dshachar reperta». [Chinchkhuza, Dzhakhar Mts.. Amdo region, Tibet, China].

• RANGE. From the Altai Mts. to the Ussuri region; China, Mongolia, Korea.

• DISTRIBUTION AND VARIATION. Besides the nominotypical taxon which occurs in China, the following subspecies are known from the territories concerned: rueckerti Fruhstorfer, 1911 (TL: «Tschifu, N.O. China) (= subornatissima Reuss, 1922; = transbaikalensis Belter, 1934; = subtransbaikalensis Belter, 1934) from Transbaikalia and the Amur region; and aglaiaeformis Watkins, 1924 (TL: Korniloff Bay, 40-70 km S of Vladivostok) (= mandschurica Belter, 1934) from the Ussuri region. However, the status of all these taxa requires a revision, especially so concerning the populations occurring west of Lake Baikal.

• TAXONOMIC NOTES. Until recently, this species has been confused both with A. adippe and A. niobe, therefore a careful re-examination of all taxa of this group is necessary (see above).

• HABITATS AND BIOLOGY. Steppe-like landscapes. Flight period: July to August.

• SIMILAR SPECIES. Argynnis niobe: smaller, androconial scales on veins invisible. A. adippe: androconial scales on two or three veins of UPF present; male genitalia different.

 

Photo and text: Guide to the BUTTERFLIES OF RUSSIA and adjacent territories Volume 2. PENSOFT, Sofia - Moscow. 2000