LEPIDOPTERA

• S A T Y R I D A E Boisduval, 1833

  • EREBIA Dalman, 1816

    
    

    • Erebia dabanensis Erschoff, [1871]

Erebia dabanensis Erschoff, [1871]

· TYPE LOCALITY. "Chamar-Daban" [Khamar-Daban Mts., Transbaikalia, Russia].

· RANGE. From the Sayan Mts. to the W. Chukot Peninsula; the Polar Urals.

· DISTRIBUTION AND VARIATION. The nominate subspecies (= tundra Staudinger, 1887) occurs in the E. Sayan Mts. and Transbaikalia. From the Polar Urals, the ssp. olshvangi P. Gorbunov, 1995 has been described, differing in the small size and strong reduction of all ocelli.

· HABITAT AND BIOLOGY. Lowland meadows and stony slopes with thin vegetation, in mountain tundras at 1,000-2,500 m a.s.l. Flight period: June-July. Host plant (Gorbunov, Korshunov, 1995): probably Festuca.

· SIMILAR SPECIES. E. fletcheri: UPF ochreous-red band broad, well-defined; UNH postdiscal band poorly developed. E. kozhantshikovi: UPF subapical ocelli larger and often elliptic in shape; UNF band broken into separate spots. E. occulta: larger; UPS and UNS ground colour darker; ocelli on ochreous-brown bands very small. E. troubridgei: UPF apical ocelli usually extended, UNH ocelli ringed with ochreous-brown, not united in a single band.

Table 1. Comparative features of the dabanensis-group males

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