LEPIDOPTERA

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

  • MELLICTA Billberg, 1820

    
    

    • Mellicta plotina (Bremer, 1861)

Mellicta plotina (Bremer, 1861)

• TYPE LOCALITY. «...Bureja-Gebirge,... Ussuri» [Bureya River Valley, Amur region; Ussuri region].

• SYNONYM: pacifica Verity, 1932.

• RANGE. Temperate Asia from W. Siberia to NW. China and Korea.

• DISTRIBUTION AND VARIATION. The nominotypical subspecies (= ussuriae Verity, 1932) is known to occur locally in the Altais, the Sayan and Transbaikalia, the Amur and Ussuri regions. The species seems to be fairly constant in its external features, while separation of the ssp. standeli Dubatolov, 1997, described from the southeastern part ofW. Siberia (Novosibirsk Region), requires confirmation.

• HABITATS AND BIOLOGY. Damp to swampy meadows, usually in river valleys. Flight period: June to August, depending on local conditions.

• SIMILAR SPECIES. Mellicta ambigua: UNH discal and postdiscal pattern not darkened; genitalia different.

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