Fluturat e Shqipërisë
Butterflies of Albania

Sylvain Cuvelier =
Anila Paparisto =

Last update: 05.viii.2023

Erebia rhodopensis / Nicholl's Ringlet
Zijoshja rodopensis
Nymphalidae - Satyrinae

Erebia rhodopensis Nicholl, 1900. TL: Rila Mts., Bulgaria.

1a. Erebia rhodopensis, distribution map. Historical data ; Additional data from the 2018 update ; New observations since the 2018 update.
1b. Erebia rhodopensis ♂ underside. Mali i Gramozit, Albania (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1c. Habitat of Erebia rhodopensis. Mali i Gramozit, Albania (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1d. Erebia rhodopensis ♀ upperside. Mali i Gramozit, Albania (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1e. Erebia rhodopensis ♀ underside. Mali i Gramozit, Albania (© Sylvain Cuvelier)

Description
♂♂
Small butterfly. Fw: 19-20 mm.
Ups: sex-brand, dark brown gc, orange-red postdiscal bands enclosing twin apical white-pupiled ocelli, rarely a third vestigial ocellus in s2.
Uph: three white-pupiled ocelli in broken orange-red postdiscal band.
Unf: reddish orange gc, brown costa and outer margin, twin apical ocelli.
Unh: brown gc, pale basal and postdiscal area, dark discal and marginal band, rarely vestigial ocelli.
♀♀
Slightly larger.
Upf: paler orange-red postdiscal bands.
Uph: larger submarginal ocelli.
Unh: paler, more contrasting markings. Usually small submarginal ocelli.

Similar species

Erebia gorge Habitat: moraines and rocky slopes. Size:smaller larger. Upf: inconspicuous sex-brand. Upf: two disconnected apical white-pupiled ocelli (sometimes absent) Unf: two disconnected apical white-pupiled ocelli (sometimes absent) Unh: inconspicuous dark brown discal band, contrasting poorly with basal and pd band (♀♀ slightly more marked) Unh: strong dentate bump. Unh: small sm dark band.

Life cycle
Adults: single generation from mid-July to end 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 rhodopensis inhabits alpine grasslands above timberline from 2100 up to 2500 m a.s.l.
Spatial requirement modest, population density can be high.

Foodplants
Caterpillars feed on Poa sp.
Butterflies feed on the available flowers, often on Arnica sp. and Dianthus sp.

Distribution
Albania: only recorded from Mali i Gramozit (more research needed)
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 rhodopensis is not endangered.
Albanian Red List: DD.
IUCN Red List, category at the Mediterranean level: LC.

Useful links
Pyrgus.de
Lepiforum
euroButterflies

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