Erebia medusa

Woodland ringlet
Upperside
Underside
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Erebia
Species:	E. medusa
Binomial name
Erebia medusa (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775)
Synonyms[1]
List Erebia brigobanna Fruhstorfer, 1917 Hipparchia hippomedusa Ochsenheimer, 1820 Papilio psodea Hübner, 1804[2] Erebia medea Borkhausen, 1788 Papilio mergus Fabricius, 1793 Erebia themistocles (De Loche, 1801) Erebia hippomedusa Meisner, 1818 Erebia eumenis Freyer, 1833 Erebia florinensis Lambillion, 1903 Erebia pseudomedusa Strand, 1903 Erebia difflua Blachier, 1910 Erebia postnigra Vorbrodt, 1921 Erebia albinotica Osthelder, 1925 Erebia albofasciata Osthelder, 1925 Erebia depupillata Osthelder, 1925 Erebia luxurians Osthelder, 1925 Erebia mairloti Cabeau, 1925 Erebia effusa Osthelder, 1925 Erebia semigrisea Cabeau, 1927 Erebia alpestris Warren, 1936 Erebia dolomitica Warren, 1936 Erebia sylvatica Warren, 1936 Erebia honei Holtz, 1937 Erebia manchurica Atsumura, 1939 Erebia paradoxa Slaby, 1950 Erebia infralbosparsa Verity, 1953 Erebia macrommata Verity, 1953 Erebia pulchrappenina Verity, 1953 Erebia parumgenerosa Verity, 1953 Erebia botevi Slaby, 1979

Erebia medusa, the woodland ringlet, is a member of the subfamily Satyrinae of the family Nymphalidae.

Museum specimen

Subspecies

Subspecies include:^[3]

• Erebia medusa brigobanna Fruhstorfer, 1917
• Erebia medusa euphrasia Fruhstorfer, 1917 (Bulgaria, Bosnia)
• Erebia medusa hippomedusa (Alps) ^[4]
• Erebia medusa medusa
• Erebia medusa psodea Hübner, 1804 (Eastern Europe, Caucasus)
• Erebia medusa schansiana Goltz, 1937
• Erebia medusa transiens Heyne, 1895
• Erebia medusa turkestana Eisner, 1946 (Turkestan)
• Erebia medusa uralensis Staudinger, 1871

Distribution and habitat

This species is present in most of Europe, from France across central and eastern Europe to western Asia.^[5] These butterflies prefer clearings, grassy and humid wastelands, damp grasslands and moors and sunny forest edges, at an elevation of 300–2,300 metres (980–7,550 ft) above sea level.^[6][7]

Description

Erebia medusa has a wingspan of 44–52 millimetres (1.7–2.0 in).^[8] The antennae are club shaped. Wings are dark brown. Forewings have an orange-yellow postmedian band, with two adjacent pupillated ocelli near the apex and one or two smaller ones. There are at least four bright orange ringed eyespots on the hindwing. The number of eyespots is rather variable. The two sides of the wings are similar. The female is generally paler than the male.^[6] The ribbed eggs are white or light green speckled with brown. The caterpillars are about 20 millimeters long, light beige or pale green with a dark dorsal stripe. The chrysalis is light brown.

Biology

The females lay their eggs individually or in small groups on grasses. Caterpillars feed on Gramineae, Digitaria, Milium effusum, Panicum, Setaria, Brachypodium, Festuca and Bromus species.^[3] Adults fly from May to August.^[7] This species overwinters as a caterpillar for one or two years depending on the altitude of its habitat.

References

Bibliography

• M. Chinery et P. Leraut, Photoguide des papillons d'Europe, Delachaux et Niestlé ( ISBN 2-603-01114-6)
• Stuhldrehrer, G. & T. Fartmann (2015): Oviposition-site preferences of a declining butterfly Erebia medusa (Lepidoptera: Satyrinae) in nutrient-poor grasslands. — European Journal for Entomology 112(3): 493–499
• Tom Tolman, Richard Lewington, Guide des papillons d'Europe et d'Afrique du Nord, Delachaux et Niestlé, 1998 - ( ISBN 2603011146)

External links

• Paolo Mazzei, Daniel Morel, Raniero Panfili Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa
• Schmetterling-raupe.de