LEPIDOPTERA

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

  • CLOSSIANA Reuss, 1920

    
    

    • Clossiana improba (Butler, 1877)

Clossiana improba (Butler, 1877)

• TYPE LOCALITY. «Winter Cove and Cambridge Bay» [NW. Territories, Canada].

• RANGE. Polar tundra from Fennoscandia to Chukotka and N. America.

• DISTRIBUTION AND VARIATION. Specimens from N. Eurasia have usually been attributed to the nominotypical subspecies, but those from E. Chukotka are very close to the ssp. youngi (Holland, 1900), the latter taxon originally described from Alaska.

• HABITATS AND BIOLOGY. Lowland or montane bush tundra up to 1,000 m a.s.l. Flight period: June to August. Host plants (Henriksen & Kreutzer, 1982): Bistorta vivipara and Salix herbacea.

• SIMILAR SPECIES. Clossicinci frigga: much larger; ground colour of UPS reddish, markings clear. C. freya, C. charicleia, C. butleri, C. polaris: discal band of UNH with three or more whitish or silvery spots.

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