Fluturat e Shqipërisë
Butterflies of Albania

Sylvain Cuvelier =
Anila Paparisto =

Last update: 15.iv.2024

Erebia gorge / Silky Ringlet
Zijosha gorge
Nymphalidae - Satyrinae

Erebia gorge (Hübner, [1804]). TL: Switzerland and Tirol.

1a. Erebia gorge, distribution map. Historical data ; Additional data from the 2018 update ; New observations since the 2018 update.
1b. Erebia gorge ♂ underside. Mali i Korabit, Albania (© Jurgen Couckuyt)
1c. Habitat of Erebia gorge. Mali i Korabit, Albania (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1d. Erebia gorge ♂ underside. Mali i Korabit, Albania (© Jurgen Couckuyt)
1e. Habitat of Erebia gorge. Mali i Korabit, Albania (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1g. Habitat of Erebia gorge. Mali i Tomorit, Albania (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1h. Habitat of Erebia gorge. Mali i Tomorit, Albania (© Sylvain Cuvelier)

Description
♂♂
Small butterfly. Fw: 17-20 mm.
Ups: dark brown black gc.
Upf: conspicuous orange-red postdiscal band enclosing very small (sometimes absent) white ringed, black ocelli (up to two)
Uph: almost unmarked, sometimes faint traces of postdiscal band.
Unf: large orange-red basal area extending to submarginal area, ocelli identical as uph.
Unh: inconspicuous pattern.
♀♀
Slightly larger.
Ups: paler brown gc.
Upf: paler orange-red postdiscal band enclosing two large, white pupiled black ocelli, sometimes with an additional smallthird ocellus.
Uph: unmarked.
Unf: paler orange area, ocelli identical as uph.
Unh: paler gc, postdiscal band with lighter tone.

Similar species

Erebia rhodopensis Habitat: alpine grasslands. Size:slightly larger. Upf: conspicuous sex-brand. Upf: connected apical white-pupiled ocelli + ocelli along outer margin. Unf: connected apical white-pupiled ocelli + ocelli along outer margin (especially ♀♀) Unh: conspicuous dark brown discal band, contrasting with paler basal and pd band (♀♀ very marked) Unh: no strong dentate bump. Unh: large sm dark band. Unh: ocelli in pd band.

Life cycle
Adults: single generation from July to August.
Egg: short stage.
Caterpillar: two years to develop, overwintering first year as small larva, second year as almost full-grown larva.
Pupa: short stage.

Habitat
Erebia gorge inhabits moraines and rocky slopes from 1700 m up to 2600 m a.s.l.
Spatial requirement modest, population density low.

Foodplants
Caterpillars feed on Poa alpina, P. annua, P. minor, Festuca airoides, F. halleri, F. violacea and Sesleria caerulea.
Butterflies feed on the available flowers near the moraines and rocky slopes, often on Arnica sp.

Distribution
Albania: very local in northern Albania, one isolated population on Mali i Tomorrit.
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
Erebia gorge is not endangered.
Albanian Red List: NT.
IUCN Red List, category at the Mediterranean level: LC.

Useful links
Pyrgus.de
Lepiforum
euroButterflies
(url) Beshkov S. & Nahirnić-Beshkova. 2021. Contribution to knowledge of the Balkan Lepidoptera II (Lepidoptera: Macrolepidoptera) — Ecologica Montenegrina  42: 1–44.

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