LEPIDOPTERA

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

  • LIMENITIS Fabricius, 1807

    
    

    • Limenitis helmanni Lederer, 1853

Limenitis helmanni Lederer, 1853

•TYPE LOCALITY. «Ustbuchtarminsk» [Lower Bukhtarma River, E. Kazakhstan].

•RANGE. N. Tian-Shan (Zailiisky Alatau Mts.), Altais, Amur and Ussuri regions; China and Korea.

• DISTRIBUTION AND VARIATION. The nominotypical subspecies is known to occur in the Zailiisky Alatau Mts. and the Altais. The ssp. duplicata Staudinger, 1892, which is characterised by the more strongly developed white marking, inhabits the Amur and Ussuri regions, NE. China and Korea. In the Ussuri region, some colour forms are known to be present. The form pryeri Moore, 1877 has bright submarginal spots, especially on the UNS. The morph montana Kurentzov, 1941 is distinguished by the band on the UPH narrowed inside. According to Kurentzov (1970), this form is distrib­uted along the upper timber-line at 1,200-1,300 m a.s.l. Specimens from the N. Tian-Shan Mts. also display the same band narrowed inside.

•HABITATS AND BIOLOGY. In the mountains, butterflies stick to bush-clad slopes; also occurring in deciduous valley forests. Flight period: June to August. Host plants in the Altais (Korshunov & Gorbunov, 1995); Lonicera altaica, L. tatarica; in the Ussuri region (Dantchenko & Nikolaevsky, in press); Lonicera maackii.

• SIMILAR SPECIES. Limenitis homeyeri: two black spots on UNH at base not signifi­cant; bluish white area at base narrow. L. doerriesi: with red dust on transverse vein on UPF. L. amphyssa: with a white transverse stroke in central cell. L. moltrechti, L. Camilla: with one white spot in central cell of UPF.

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