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LEPIDOPTERA

Mellicta ambigua (Menetries, 1859)
Mellicta ambigua (Menetries, 1859)

• TYPE LOCALITY. «Djai» [Blagoveshtshensk, Amur region, Russia].

• RANGE. From the Altais across the Sayan, Transbaikalia, the Amur region to Sakhalin; Korea, Japan.

• DISTRIBUTION AND VARIATION. Both individual and geographical variation great. All previous authors who have ever dealt with this species note, there are neither marked differences nor clear borders between the numerous forms described. However, we suggest division into the following forms as distinct subspecies: ssp. kenteana Seitz, [1909] (= sayanskalpina Verity, 1940; = crassepicta Verity, 1940) - mountainous areas ofAltais, Sayan and Transbaikalia; ssp. ambigua (Menetries, 1859) (= bathilda Fruhstorfer, 1919; ?= sachalinensis Matsumura, 1925) - Amur region, ?N. Sakhalin; ssp. niphona Butler, 1878 (= mandschurica Fixsen, 1887; ?= nossis Fruhstorfer, 1919; = siitschana Reverdin, 1922) - Ussuri region.

• TAXONOMIC NOTES. The status of the taxon sachalinensis, described from a single female from N. Sakhalin, is uncertain. We place it into synonymy under ambigua on the basis of geographical considerations. The holotype of the taxon nossis, figured by Verity (1940), does not seem to differ from the typical niphona. According to some authors (Shimpei, 1996), the Japanese taxon niphona represents a separate species which does not occur in the mainland. This seems rather doubtful and requires confirmation.

• HABITATS AND BIOLOGY. Meadows and forest edges in river valleys and at foothills, steppe habitats up to 2,000 m a. S.I. Flight period: June to July.

• SIMILAR SPECIES. Mellicta athalia: ground colour of UPS generally more reddish; UNS pale spots whitish. M. britomartis amurensis: smaller, UPS darker, black pattern more regular; UNH pale spots usually whitish.

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