Fluturat e Shqipërisë
Butterflies of Albania

Sylvain Cuvelier =
Anila Paparisto =

Last update: 05.viii.2023

Erebia aethiops / Scotch Argus
Zijoshja aethiops
Nymphalidae - Satyrinae

Erebia aethiops (Esper, 1777). TL: S. Germany.

1a. Erebia aethiops, distribution map. Historical data ; Additional data from the 2018 update ; New observations since the 2018 update.
1b. Erebia aethiops ♂ underside. Romania (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1c. Erebia aethiops ♂ lateral. Italy (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1d. Erebia aethiops ♀ underside. Romania (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1e. Erebia aethiops ♂ underside. Italy (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1f. Erebia aethiops ♂ underside. Italy (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1g. Erebia aethiops ♂ underside. Greece (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1h. Erebia aethiops ♂ upperside. Greece (© Sylvain Cuvelier)

Description
♂♂
Medium size butterfly. Fw: 22-26 mm.
Ups: brown-black gc.
Upf: conspicuous sex-brand, orange-red postdiscal band often constricted at s3 enclosing white-pupiled ocelli in s2, s4 and s5.
Uph: orange-red postdiscal band often reduced to small orange-red rings, enclosing small white-pupiled ocelli in s2, s3, s4 and sometimes s5.
Uns: dark reddish-brown gc.
Unh: pale greyish posdiscal band enclosing small white points (sometimes small ocelli) in s2 to s5.
♀♀
Similar size.
Ups: paler brown gc.
Upf: paler yellowish orange postdiscal band.
Uph: larger red-ringed ocelli.
Uns: sometimes fringes look slightly checkered pale and dark brown.
Unh: yellow-brown gc, darker discal band with paler basal and postdiscal areas.

Similar species

Erebia are variable on ups and uns for most of the characters: number of ocelli, postdiscal band, fringes, ... and some extreme cases are figured. Identification is best done by combining different characters. In doubt: ♂♂ genitalia bear differentiating characters and in such cases dissection is recommended for identification. Erebia ligea Size:slightly larger. Ups: fringes clearly checkered. Upf: white-pupiled ocelli in regular pd band. !!! ocelli can be reduced and less white-pupiled. Upf: sex-brand. Uph: complete and white-pupiled ocelli. !!! ocelli can be reduced and less white-pupiled. Uns: fringes clearly checkered. Unf: complete and white-pupiled ocelli. !!! ocelli can be reduced and less white-pupiled. Unh: complete and white-pupiled ocelli. !!! ocelli can be reduced and less white-pupiled. Unh: one or two pure white streaks. Unh: inconspicuous paler bands.     Erebia euryale Size:sligthly smaller. Ups: fringes clearly checkered. Upf: small ocelli in regular postdiscal band. Upf: no sex-brand. Uph: often incomplete and small ocelli. Uns: fringes clearly checkered. Unf: often incomplete and small ocelli. Unh: incomplete to absent small ocelli. Unh: ♂♂ no conspicuous pale basal band. Unh: ♀♀ two pale irregular bands.     Erebia pronoe Size:sligthly smaller or similar. Ups: fringes not checkered. Upf: twin apical ocelli in clear orange pd band. Upf: inconspicuous sex-brand. Uns: fringes not checkered. Unh: distal part of discal band strongly toothed. Unh: two paler irregular bands.

Life cycle
Adults: single generation from late June to August.
Egg: 14-18 days.
Caterpillar: overwintering as L2 or L3.
Pupa: 14-18 days.

Habitat
Erebia aethiops inhabits sunny, hilly grasslands in areas with scattered bushes and open forest (also among coniferous trees) from 800 up to 1700 m a.s.l.
Spatial requirement modest, population density can be high.

Foodplants
Caterpillars feed mainly on Brachypodium pinnatum, Dactylis glomerata, Festuca ovina, F. rubra and Phleum pratense. Also mentioned are Carex sp., Agrostis canina, Aira caryophyllea, Anthoxanthum odoratum, Briza sp., Calamagrostis epigejos, Molinia caerulea, Poa sp. and Sesleria caerulea.
Butterflies feed on a large variety of flowers.

Distribution
Albania: only recorded in northern Albania, widespread in the Northern Albanian Alps. At the southern limit of the distribution range in the Balkan peninsula.
Balkan: AL - BG - BIH - GR - HR - NMK - MNE - RKS - RO - SLO - SRB
Europe: IB - IT* - ALP - BAL - NWE* - UK* - SCA - EEU
Asia Minor, Transcaucasia, Caucasus and further east.

Conservation status
Erebia aethiops is not endangered.
Albanian Red List: LC.
IUCN Red List, category at the Mediterranean level: NA.

Useful links
Bink 2015
Pyrgus.de
Lepiforum
Euroleps

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