Aphantopus hyperantus / Ringlet
Hiperantia
Nymphalidae - Satyrinae

Aphantopus hyperantus (Linnaeus, 1758). TL: Sweden.

1a. Aphantopus hyperantus, distribution map. Historical data ; Additional data from the 2018 update ; New observations since the 2018 update.
1b. Aphantopus hyperantus copula. UK (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1c. Aphantopus hyperantus ♀ lateral. Romania (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1d. Aphantopus hyperantus ♀ upperside. Bulgaria (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1e. Aphantopus hyperantus ♀ underside. Romania (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1f. Aphantopus hyperantus ♀ underside. Bulgaria (© Sylvain Cuvelier)

Description
♂♂
Medium size butterfly. Fw: 20-24 mm.
Ups: brown-black gc.
Upf: inconspicuous sex-brand along median veins, sometimes more or less visible ocelli in s3 and s5.
Uph: sometimes ocelli in s2 and s3.
Uns: pale brown gc, conspicuous yellow-ringed ocelli on unf and unh.
♀♀
Similar size.
Ups: paler brown-black gc, conspicuous ocelli.
Uns: paler brown gc, small marginal and submarginal lines, ocelli similar as ♂♂.

Similar species
None.

Life cycle
Adults: single generation from end-June to early August.
Egg: 13-20 days.
Caterpillar: overwintering as L3 larva, in a tussock of the foodplant.
Pupa: 14-28 days.

Habitat
Aphantopus hyperantus inhabits damp grasslands in light woodland, forest edges an dense scrubland from lowland up to 1600 m a.s.l.
Spatial requirement is modest, population density can be high, nomadic.

Foodplants
Caterpillars feed on Alopecurus pratensis, Brachypodium sp., Cynosurus cristatus, Dactylis glomerata, Elymus repens, Festuca sp. and Phleum pratense. Also mentioned are Agrostis sp., Carex sp., Arrhenatherum elatius, Deschampsia cespitosa, Holcus sp., Miilum effusum, Molinia caerulea and Phalaris arundinacea.
Butterflies feed on a large variety of flowers, often on Rubus.

Distribution
Albania: very local.
Balkan: AL - BG - BIH - GR - HR - NMK - MNE - RKS - RO - SLO - SRB
Europe: IB* - IT* - ALP - BAL - NWE - UK - SCA - EEU
Not at all present in Asia Minor, Near East, Transcaucasia, Caucasus and further east.

Conservation status
Aphantopus hyperantus is not endangered.
Albanian Red List: NE.
IUCN Red List, category at the Mediterranean level: LC.

Useful links
Bink 2015
Pyrgus.de
Lepiforum
Euroleps