LEPIDOPTERA

• N Y M P H A L I D A E Swainson, 1827

  • EUPHYDRYAS Scudder, 1872

    
    

    • Euphydryas (aurinia) orientalis (Herrich-Schaffer, [1851])

Euphydryas (aurinia) orientalis (Herrich-Schaffer, [1851])

• TYPE LOCALITY. «Amasia;...Constantinopel...» [Amasya; Istanbul, Turkey].

• RANGE. S. European part, Transcaucasia, Kazakhstan; Turkey.

• DISTRIBUTION AND VARIATION. The nominotypical subspecies lives in Turkey and Transcaucasia. Over the S. European part, the ssp. sareptensis (Staudinger, 1878) (= sareptana Staudinger, 1861, nom. nudum; sareptana Staudinger, 1871, nom. nudum) is known to occur. The steppe and semi-desert parts of N. Kazakhstan are populated by the ssp. emba (Fruhstorfer, 1917).

• HABITATS AND BIOLOGY. Steppe-clad meadows, limestone egresses. Flight period: June to July. Host plant in the the lower flow of Volga River and in W. Kazakhstan (Dantchenko & Nikolaevskiy, in press): Scabiosa isetensis. Hibernation larval.

• SIMILAR SPECIES. Euphydryas aurinia, E. asiatica: slightly smaller; ground colour orange-red. E. provincialis: black marking of UPS and orange submarginal fascia not contrasting. E. merope: smaller; black marking of UPS extended and heavy; ground colour pale yellow or pale grey.

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