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NOTE: the text corresponds to Korshunov & Gorbunov, 1995) only.
FAMILIA LYCAENIDAE [Leach], [1815]
Mostly small butterflies (f.w.l. ranges from 9 to 23 mm, but
usually is within 12-18 mm). The head is globular; the fore legs
are reduced only in males; the eyes are surrounded with
light scales. The colouration of the wing upperside is very
diverse, most frequently it is of blue, brown, or orange
colours. Sexual dimorphism is well expressed in the majority
of species
The larvae are flat beneath and convex above, usually they
do not exceed 15-20 mm. The head is small and can be drawn
into the first segment of the body. The legs and prolegs are
short. The larvae live solitary and secretly. Numerous
species of herbs , bushes, and trees are among their
foodplants, mostly from the families Fabaceae, Polygonaceae,
Rosaceae, and Fagaceae. The larvae of some speceis are
obligatory mirmecophyls. The pupae are short and stout; they
are attaced to the substrate with the cremaster and a silken
belt or lie freely on the ground. The pupae of some species,
being disturbed, are capable of producing crunching sounds
by friction of the abdominal segments.
The family ranges throughout the world and includes about 3500
species, 113 of which being found in the Asian Russia.
SUBFAMILIA THECLINAE Svainson, 1831
TRIBUS THECLINI Svainson, 1831
F.w.l.: 11-23 mm. The colouration is diverse, bright, often
metallic; the anal angle of the hind wing as a rule bears a
tail. These butterflies are trophically connected with
arboreal plants. The imagines have a prolonged flight
period, usually they are active in the second half of the
day and keep to tree crowns. Hibernation occurs on the egg
phase. The pupae lie freely on the ground or are attached
with a silken belt.
The tribe includes 35 genera and about 115 species, mostly from
E and SE Asia.
GENUS ARTOPOETES Chapman, 1802.
Type species: Lycaena pryeri Murray, 1873.
A monotypical genus.
320. Artopoetes pryeri (Murray, 1873).
TYPE LOCALITY: Japan
RANGE: Priamurie (from the Bureya to the Gorin Rivers), Primorie,
NE China, Korea, Japan.
HABITAT: broad-leaved and mixed forests in river valleys,
less frequently on mountain slopes.
FLIGHT PERIOD: July-August.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Japan (Fukuda et al., 1984)
and Primorie (Dantchenko et al., 1995). Foodplant in
Primorye: Syringa amurensis (Graeser, 1888), from Japan
Ligustrum thonoskii is also reported. Eggs: reddish-brown,
their shape resembling a geer with numerous lateral ribs;
laid on the foodplant bark 1-3 m above the ground in
clusters by 2-5 or more. Larva: green with a reddish-brown
spot on the back of each thoracic segment; both ends
pointed; in general the larva resembles a young leaf of the
foodplant, it is visited by ants. Pupa: green or cream-white
with brown wing cases, abdomen strongly convex dorsally; it
is suspended on leaf underside.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 18-22 mm. The colouration
is exceptional for the subfamily: wing upperside blue in
males and light-blue in females, with a dark-brown outer
border about 4 mm in width; wing underside whitish with two
rows of small black dots at outer margin; tail is absent.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: poorly studied.
ETYMOLOGY: see 132. Neptis pryeri.
GENUS COREANA Tutt, [1907].
Type species: Thecla raphaelis Oberthur, 1880.
A monotypical genus.
321. Coreana raphaelis (Oberthur, 1880).
TYPE LOCALITY: the Askold island.
RANGE: S Primorie, including the adjacent small islands, NE
China, Korea, Japan (Honshu). A local and rare species.
HABITAT: dry broad-leaved forests on mountain slopes, mostly
with rocks. The butterflies are abserved at foodplants
usually since afternoon to twilight.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplant: Fraxinus rhynchophilla (M.
Omel'ko), the reports of Dictamnus and Quercus mongolica by
A.I. Kurenzov (1970) are misleading. Eggs: greyish-rose,
hemispheric with large dimples; they are laid in clusters
from several to 80 ones on the bark of young trees growing
openly, they hibernate. The larva hatches in April, at the
first instar it keeps to the foodplant buds, at the second
instar it constructs a simple shelter by spinning the leaves
tohether, in the third and fourth instars it lives in a nest
made out of silk-spun fading leaves where is actively
visited by ants. In the last instar it is green and covered
with numerous black dots, with a reddish line on the back
and a triangular spot of the same colour on the eleventh
segment. Pupa: pale-brown with dark markings; it is placed
under leaf fall or in rotting wood, at stones or, rarely, in
a nest on a tree.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 16-20 mm. Wing upperside
orange, with an uneven dark-brown outer border, wider in
males. The tail is absent.
GENUS USSURIANA Tutt, [1907].
Type species: Thecla michaelis Oberthur, 1880.
An East-Asiatic genus with three species.
322. Ussuriana michaelis (Oberthur, 1880).
TYPE LOCALITY: the Askold island.
RANGE: S Primorie, including the adjacent small islands,
North-East and Central China, Korea, Taiwan, reported by
Fudjioka (1992) for the environs of Khabarovsk, that, to our
mind, is a result of a wrong interpretation of O.
Staudinger's labels "Amur". A local species.
HABITAT: polydominant broad-leaved forests on moderate
altitudes. Imagines keep to the tree crowns, sometimes they
visit inflorescences of the Apiaceae plants for feeding, in
the morning and evening they can be found in the grass under
ashes.
FLIGHT PERIOD: prolonged from middle July to middle
September.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Primorie (Dantchenko et al.,
1995). Foodplant: Fraxinus rhynchophylla. Eggs: hemisphaeric
with vertical ribs and quardangular pored cells between
them; laid singly in deep crevices on the bark. Larva: dark
greyish-brown (Koiwaya, 1993) or dark-green with
inconspicuous dark stripes (Fukuda et al., 1984): a wide and
waving one on the back and a narrow slanting one on either
side; the entire body is covered with small black dots.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 15-21 mm (in the ISEA
collection butterflies from the Khasan and Nadezhdino
Districts of Primorie are almost twice as large as those
from the town Partizansk environs). Wing upperside dark-
brown with a large orange-yellow spot at fore wing anal
margin, which occupies majority of wing area in females.
Tail thread-like, about 4 mm long.
ETYMOLOGY: Mikhail Ivanovich Yanovskiy collected butterflies
in the Far East in 70-80s of XIX century; his collections
partly were treated by C. Oberthur, partly got to N.M.
Romanov's collection.
Ussuriana stygiana (Butler, 1881).
TYPE LOCALITY: Japan: Honshu: Nikko.
RANGE: The major islands of Japan and the Oku island. In the
collection of the Institute of Biology and Pedology of the Far
East Division of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Vladivostok)
there is a specimen with the label "Sakhalin Cent. Exp. Sta.";
this species can probably be found also on the Kunashir.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Japan (Fukuda et al., 1984).
Foodplants: Fraxinus mandshurica, etc.. Eggs: small, greyish;
laid in butches by 1-20 on branches or in bark crevices;
they hibernate. The young larva feeds inside the buds, since
the second instar it keeps to the leaf surface; in the last
instar lives on the foodplant bark. Mature larva: green with
or without purple lateral lines and with small black
markings. Pupa: brown, lies among the leaf fall.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 16-19 mm. Wing upperside
evenly brownish-black; underside greyish-yellow with an
interrupted narrow band bordered with red spots at outer
margin; tail filiform, about 2 mm long.
GENUS SHIROZUA Sibatani et Ito, 1942.
Type species: Thecla jonasi Janson, 1877.
A monotypical genus.
323. Shirozua jonasi (Janson, 1887).
Type species: Japan: Honshu: the Yokama River.
RANGE: Middle Priamurie (from the Zeya River to the Gorin
River), Primorie, and the adjacent small islands, NE China,
Korea, Japan (Hokkaido and Honshu).
HABITAT: montane mixed and broad-leaved forests with the
participation of the oak.
FLIGHT PERIOD: late July/October.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Japan (Fukuda et al., 1984).
Foodplant: Quercus. Eggs: relatively large, brownish with a
reticulate pattern and a conical projection on the top; laid
singly on the trunks, always on ant pathways; hibertnating.
The larvae feed on aphids and coccids, and also on old
fallen oak leaves, and are actively visited by ants, in
captivity they attack and eat weaker individuals. Mature
larva: purple-grey with orange lengthwise lines along back and
sides. Pupa: light-brown with dark spots; it is found under
fallen leaves, branches, or under stones at the bases of oak
trees.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 16-21 mm. Both wing sides
bright-orange; on underside of each wing there are a dark
stroke on transversal vein and a dark postdiscal stripe;
tail filiform, about 3 mm long.
NOTE: The report of Gonelilia melpomene (Leech, 1890) for
Khabarovsk by A.I. Kurenzov in fact concerns S. jonasi.
GENUS THECLA Fabricius, 1807.
Type species.: Papilio betulae Linnaeus, 1758.
F.w.l.: 15-21 mm. Wing upperside dark-brown, with a large
orange postdiscal spot in females; tail wide, crescent-
shaped, about 2.5 mm long. A Palearctic genus with two
species.
324. Thecla betulae (Linnaeus, 1758).
TYPE LOCALITY: Sweden.
RANGE: The temperate Eurasia, in Siberia northwards to the
southern taiga.
HABITAT: wood edges, coppices, bush thickets, parks,
orchards. Rather a rare species. The imagines often keep to
the birch crawns when they hide among the leaves, at night
they rest on leaf underside, rarely visit flowers.
FLIGHT PERIOD: middle July/October.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: various arboreal and
fruticose Rosaceae: Padus, Prunus, Rubus ideus, Sorbus,
Crataegus, etc., reported are also Corylus (Corylaceae),
Betula (Betulaceae), Ribes (Grossulariaceae), Viburnum
(Caprifoliaceae). In Middle Ural oviposition was observed on
Padus avium (P. Gorbunov), in Primorie on Armeniaca
manshurica and Padus avium (reported as P. asiaticum)
(Dantchenko et al., 1995). Eggs: white or yellowish-geen,
with tiny sexangular dimples; laid on thin branches or their
branching points, most frequently on young plants. The
larvae hibernate in the egg shells. Mature larva: green with
a double yellow line on the back and yellow line on either
side, above which there are two rows of slanting yellowish-
white streaks; head brown. It usually keeps to the leaf
upperside. Before pupation, which takes place in a lower
part of a crawn, the larva becomes reddish-brown. Pupa:
brown with partly lightened abdominal segments, it lies
freely among fallen leaves.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 15-21 mm. Hind wing
underside ochre-orange with a wide darker transversal
band bordered with white lines.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: ssp. betula (= ongodai Tutt, 1908,
described from Altai) ranges throughout Siberia. In the
southern Far East the species is represented with ssp.
crassa Leech, 1894.
325. Thecla betulina (Staudinger, 1887).
TYPE LOCALITY: S Primorie: the Razdolnaya River.
RANGE: Middle Priamurie (does not penetrate upstream of the
Malyy [Small] Hingan mountain range), Primorie, the adjacent
regions of NE China and Korea. A rare species.
HABITAT: open valley forests. The butterflies usually keep
high in the apple-tree crawns at forest edges; in the second
half of the day their activity decreases.
FLIGHT PERIOD: July/September.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Primorie (Dantchenko et al.,
1995). Foodplant: Malus mandshurica. Eggs: hemisphaeric,
with sexangular pored cells. Larva: whitish-green set with
short white hairs. Starting from the second instar it rolls
a leaf into a tube on which it spends most time.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 16-20 m. Hind wing
underside greyish with a brownish transversal band bordered
with white lines.
GENUS PROTANTIGIUS Shirozu et Yamamoto, 1956.
Type species: Drina superans Oberthur, 1914.
A monotypical genus.
326. Protantigius superans (Oberthur, 1914)
(= pugatshuki Kurenzov, 1970).
TYPE LOCALITY: China: Sichuan: Siaolu.
RANGE: S Primorie (the Khasan District), North-East and
Central China, Korea. A rare species.
HABITAT: montane and valley polydominant broad-leaved.
According to observations by V.V. Dubatolov, the
butterflies are found in the crowns of Alnus hirsuta, most
probably being a foodplant of this species.
FLIGHT PERIOD: middle July/early September.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 15-23 mm. Wing upperside
dark-brown, in females with blueish-white spots between
veins at outer margin; wing underside is silvery-while with
a brown postdiscal line; tail thread-like, up to 9 mm long.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: Primorie is inhabited by ssp.
ginzii Seok, 1936 (= pugatshuki Kurenzov, 1970), stated
from N. Korea.
GENUS JAPONICA Tutt, 1907.
Type species: Dipsas saepestriata Hewitson, [1865].
F.w.l.: 14-20 mm. Wings orange-yellow both above and
beneath; with outer margin bordered with a narrow brownish
stripe; tail is thread-like, 4-5 mm long. Eggs: disc-shaped,
with sexangular pored cells (Dantchenko et al., 1995).
An East-Asiatic genus with four species.
327. Japonica saepestriata (Hewitson, 1865).
TYPE LOCALITY: Japan.
RANGE: Middle Priamurie (Khabarovsk), S Primorie, NE China, Korea,
Japan (Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku). Rather a rare species.
HABITAT: montane and valley broad-leaved forests.The
butterflies keep to the foodplants, visit the flowers of
Sorbaria sorbifolia.
FLIGHT PERIOD: July/August.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Japan (Fukuda et al., 1984).
Foodplants: Quercus spp. Eggs: greyish-white; laid singly on buds
and branches of the foodplant, the substrate being covered
with the hairs from the female's abdonem before oviposition;
the eggs hibernate. A young larva lives in a net made up
of silk-spun leaves. Mature larva: light-green with sharp
projections on back of 4th-7th segments forming a
peculilar crest. Pupa: green, ellyptical, attached to the
underside of a foodplant leaf.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 15-20 mm; pattern of wing
underside consists of a network of interrupted transversal
brownish streaks.
328. Japonica lutea (Hewitson, 1865).
TYPE LOCALITY: Japan.
RANGE: Middle Priamurie (from the Bureya River to the city
Komsomol'sk-na-Amure), Primorie, including the adjacent small
islands, the Kunashir, NE China, Korea, Japan.
HABITAT: broad-leaved and mixed montane forests.
FLIGHT PERIOD: late June/middle August.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplant: Quercus mongolica (Fujioka,
1993). Eggs: white; laid on branches and at the bud bases,
the substrate being covered with the hairs from the female's
abdonem before oviposition; the eggs hibernate. Larva:
light-green, set with light hairs. It lives and pupates on
leaf undersidse. Pupa: light-green, ellyptical.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 15-18 mm. Hind wing
underside pale-ochre-orange with a wide darker band bordered
with silvery-white lines and, along outer margin, an orange
streak containing black dots between veins. Similar species:
J. adusta.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: The Russian Far East is inhabited by
ssp. dubatolovi Fujioka, 1993, described from the environs
of the town Arsenyev.
329. Japonica adusta (Riley, 1930) (=lutea auct.)
TYPE LOCALITY: China: Sichuan.
RANGE: S Primorie (the Khasan district, the Vityaz Bay, the
islands Putyatina and Furugel'ma), Japan (Hokkaido, Honshu),
Korea, North-East and Central China.
HABITAT: dry open oak and oak/birch woodland on mountain slopes. The
imagines keep to the oak-trees.
FLIGHT PERIOD: July/middle August.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Primorie (Dantchenko et al.,
1995). Foodplant: Quercus dentata. Eggs are laid on buds and
young branches of old oaks in groups by 3-15. A female
трется with its abdomen over just laid eggs to mask them
with hairs and a wax-like secret, so that they become almost
invisible on a pubescent branch. Mature larva: green,
whitish beneath, with conspicuous brown spiracles on
segments 5-9; covered with light hairs.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 17-23 mm. From the similar
species J. lutea this one differs well by the male genitalia
structure (Fujioka, 1993); besides, the black band on hind wing
underside expressed only at anal angle, black spot at the
tail base smaller.
GENUS ARARAGI Sibatani et Ito, 1942.
Type species: Thecla enthea Janson, 1877.
An East-Asiatic genus with two species.
330. Araragi enthea (Janson, 1877).
TYPE LOCALITY: Japan: Honshu: the Yokawa River.
RANGE: Middle Priamurie (does not penetrate upstream of the Malyy
[Minor] Hingan mountain range), Primorie, including the adjacent small
islands, Central and North-East China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan.
HABITAT: valley broad-leaved forests. Rather a rare species.
FLIGHT PERIOD: middle July/late September.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Primorie (Dantchenko et al.,
1995). Foodplant: Juglans mandshurica. Eggs: white, small,
hemispheric, covered with long projections, each with a flat
triangular apex with an opening in the middle, the
projections border sexangular cells. Eggs are laid singly or
in small batches on the foodplant branches. A young larva
lives within the buds, the mature one lives openly on leaf
underside until June. Mature larva: green with a wide white
band beneath the spiracles and slanting light streaks on the
sides. Pupa: dark-brown with spots; it is found among dead
leaves at the foodplant trees.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 14-16 mm. Wing upperside
greyish-brown with obscure darker spots; wing underside
whitish with many separate black spots throughout and an
orange-yellow area at hind wing anal angle. Tail filiform,
about 4 mm long.
GENUS ANTIGIUS Sibatani et Ito, 1942.
Type species: Thecla attilia Bremer, 1861.
F.w.l.: 15-17 mm. Wing upperside brown, hind wing with
light submarginal spots; wing upperside has a pattern
consisting of dark spots and streaks on a whitish
background; tail thread-like.
An Eastern-Asiatic genus with two species.
331. Antigius atillia (Bremer, 1861).
TYPE LOCALITY: the mountains of Bureya.
RANGE: Middle Priamurie, Primorie, with the adjacent small
islands, North-East, Central, and South China, Korea, Japan,
Taiwan, Burma.
HABITAT: montane forests with participation of the oak. The
imagines actively feed on soap leaking out of the tree
wounds and visit flowers.
FLIGHT PERIOD: middle July/late August.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Primorie (Dantchenko et al.,
1995). Foodplant: Quercus mongolica, less frequently Q.
dentata. Eggs: greyish-white, hemispheric, with long
projections on nodes of sexangular cells; laid singly in
crevices and folds of bark, they hibernate. Larva: light-
green, on dorsal sides of thoracic segments there are two
yellow lines joining on the first abdominal segment to
continue further as a single wide stripe; on either side
there are a yellowish line and two rows of light slanting
strokes above it; there are blunt projections on the back of
segments 4-9 which bear bunches of yellowish-white hairs.
The larva lives on leaf underside. Before pupation it turns
to be purple-brown. Pupa: reddish-brown with dark spots and
bunches of fine hairs; it is found at the bases of the oak-
trees.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.:15-17 mm. Hind wing
underside has two small orange spots at anal angle and no
dark basal spots. Tail is 2 mm long.
332. Antigius butleri (Fenton, 1881).
TYPE LOCALITY: Japan: Hokkaido: the top of the peak (1060 feet) above
Hakodate.
RANGE: Middle Priamurie (does not penetrate upstream of the Malyy
[Minor] Hingan mountain range), Primorie, including the adjacent small
islands, NE China, Korea, Japan.
HABITAT: montane and valley forests with participation of
the oak. This species is locally common in the Khasan
district but northwards become local and rare.
FLIGHT PERIOD: Julye/Agust.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Primorie (Dantchenko et al.,
1995). Foodplant: Quercus mongolica, less frequently Q.
dentata. Eggs: hemispheric, light, more flat than in A.
attilia and with longer projections; laid by 6-12 on under
old bark of the foodplant. The larva of the third and
fourth instars keeps to leaf upperside and make holes in the
leaf. Mature larva (Fukuda et al., 1984) resembles that of
A. atillia, difering with a reddish colour of projections on
segments 4-9. Pupa: dark-brown, set with short fine hairs;
placed on the foodplant trunk or near it.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 14-17 mm. Hind wing
underside has three dark spots at the base and a large
orange spot at anal angle; tail about 4 mm long.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: ssp. oberthueri Staudinger,1887.
occurs in the contnental part of the range.
ETYMOLOGY: Arthur Gardner Butler - an English
lepidopterologist, his main publications of the fauna of
East Asia are dated 1868-1899.
GENUS GOLDIA Dubatolov et Korshunov, 1990.
Type species: Ravenna pacifica Dubatolov et Korshunov, 1984.
A monotypical genus.
333. Goldia pacifica (Dubatolov et Korshunov, 1984).
TYPE LOCALITY: S Primorie: 30 km of the village
Chernyshovka.
RANGE, HABITAT, FLIGHT PERIOD: An endemic of S Primorie
(the Vostochnyy Siniy mountain range in the Anuchinckiy
district) so far known by two specimens collected in a brook
valley in a mixed forest on 8th and 13th July 1982 by
V.D.Bakurov.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 20-21 mm. Wing upperside
dark-brown with a violet tint in the centre and at the base;
wing underside grey with a postdiscal row of bleached dark
spots in whitish rims; tail filiform, about 5 mm long.
GENUS WAGIMO Sibatani et Ito, 1942.
Type species: Thecla signata Butler, [Apr. 1882].
An East-Asiatic genus with two species.
334. Wagimo signata (Butler, 1882).
TYPE LOCALITY: Japan: Hokkaido: Kuramatsunai.
RANGE: Middle Priamurie (does not penetrate upstream of the
Malyy [Minor] Hingan mountain range), Primorie, including
the adjacent small islands, North-East and Central China,
Korea, Japan. Rather a rare species.
HABITAT: broad-leaved, mostly oak, forests. The imagines
usually keep to the crowns of the oak-trees, sometimes visit
flowers.
FLIGHT PERIOD: middle July/middle September.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Primorie (Dantchenko et al.,
1995). Foodplant: Quercus mongolica. Eggs: light-coloured,
hemishperical, with numerous spines in the nodes of
quadrangular cells; laid by 1-6 at bases of large flower
buds in the upper part of the crowns; they hibernate.
Further phases are described by Fukuda et al. (1984) in
Japan. The first instar larvae eat the bud, later feed on
the flowers and young leaves. Mature larva: green with a
broad white dorsal stripe, on segments 1-23 and 8 widened
due to fused triangular spots of the same colour; on either
side of segments 9-10 there are large green white-rimmed
triangles contacting the back stripe, the last segment
is entirely white, segment 10 bears two noticeable
prominence on its back; there is a white interrupted line
beneath spiracles; ventral side brownish. Pupa: silvery-grey
with angular dark speckles; it is placed in a small hollow
gnawn out by the larva in the bark or at a leaf base.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 15-18 mm. The wing
upperside is dark-brown with a large violet spot at the base
of the fore wing; the wing underside is reddish-brown with
numerous interrupted white lines and an orange area at the
anal angle. The tail is filiform, about 3 mm.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: The subspecies quercivora
Staudinger, 1887, occurs in the Russian part of the range.
GENUS NEOZEPHYRUS Sibatani et Ito, 1942
Type species: Thecla taxila Bremer, 1861 sensu Sibatani et Ito (=
japonicus Murray, 1845).
F.w.l. in our species: 14-21 mm. In males wing upperside
golden-green with a dark border, on fore wing wider than 1
mm.
The genus includes 54 species ranging in E and SE Asia.
335. Neozephirus japonicus (Murray, 1845)
(= taxila auct. non Bremer, 1861).
TYPE LOCALITY: Japan.
RANGE: E Zabaikalye (the town Sretensk), Priamurie
(downstream to the town Nikolaevsk-na-Amure), Primorie, the
Sakhalin, the Kunashir, NE China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan.
HABITAT: broad-leaved and mixed forests, alder stands.
FLIGHT PERIOD: late June/middle September.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Primorie (Dantchenko et al.,
1995) and Japan (Fukuda et al., 1984). Foodplant: Alnus spp.
Eggs: whitish, laid singly on branches or in batches on the
trunk bark; hibernating. Larva: pale-green with a darker
back line accompanied with light lines; sides with slanting
light streaks; yellowish spiracles are accompanied with two
dark-green lines. It rolls a leaf into a tube in which
spends most time. Pupa: light-brown, partly greenish, with
dark markings; it is found among dead leaves at tree bases.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 14-17 mm. In males wing
upperside metallic green with a wide (about 2 mm) dark
margin; it is brown in females, four forms of which exists:
without spots, with two orange spots on fore wing, with
violet brands, and with both orange and violet spots. In
both sexes wing underside brown without dark discal strokes.
Similar species: N. smaragdinus, N. brilliantinus.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: Hokkaido ant the continent are
inhabited by ssp. regina Butler, 1881.
336. Neozephirus smaragdinus (Bremer, 1861). (= diamantinus
Oberthur, 1879).
TYPE LOCALITY: Middle Priamurie: the mouth of the Ussury River.
RANGE: Middle Priamurie, Primorie, the Sakhalin, North-East and
Central China, Korea, Japan.
HABITAT: valley, rarely montane broad-leaved and mixed
forests with wild Rosaceae fruiters.
FLIGHT PERIOD: July/middle September.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Japan (Fukuda et al., 1984).
Foodplant: Prunus. Eggs: relatively large, light-coloured,
laid singly at branch furcations; hibernating. The young
larva lives inside the bud, later on leaf underside; feeds
at night. Mature larva: bright-yellow with black spiracles.
Pupa: light brown with dark patches; it is found in bark
crevices on the trunk, in the leaf fall or under stones at
the tree base.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 16-19 mm. In males wing
upperside metallic golden-green (after alcohol wetting it
becomes bronze-violet) with a relatively wide (about 1-2 mm)
dark border; in females it is brown with a large orange spot
at transversal vein of fore wing. In both sexes wing
underside brown with dark, white rimmed, discal strokes,
hind wing with a light stroke at base. Similar species: N.
brilliantinus, N. japonicus.
337. Neozephirus brillantinus (Staudinger, 1887). (=
aurorinus auct. non Oberthur, 1880; coruscans auct. non
Leech, 1893).
TYPE LOCALITY: S Primorie: the Askold island and the Razdol'naya
River.
RANGE: S Primorie, including the adjacent small islands, NE
China, Korea, Japan.
HABITAT: broad-leaved forests with participation of the oak.
FLIGHT PERIOD: July/October.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Japan (Fukuda et al., 1984)
and Primorie (Dantchenko et al., 1995). Foodplants: Querqus
mongolica . Eggs: whitish, set with numerous blunt spines in
nodes of quadrangular cells; laid singly at the bud bases
high on the trees; hibernating. The young larva is usually
found under the scales of a flower bud or at its base, later
it spins the inflorescence with silken threads. Mature
larva: reddish-brown with a dark dorsal line and slanting
whitish stroles laterally of it.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 17-21 mm. In males wing
upperside is metallic golden-green (after alcohol wetting it
becomes bronze-coloured) with a relatively wide (about 1-2
mm) dark margin; in females it is brown with a large orange
spot distally of transversal vein of fore wing. In both
sexes wing underside brown, fore wing with a dark, white
rimmed, discal stroke, the hind wing without a light stroke
at base. Similar species: N. smaragdinus, N. japonicus.
GENUS FAVONIUS Sibatani et Ito, 1942.
Type species: Dipsas orientalis Murray, 1875.
F.w.l.: 15-22 mm. In males wing upperside blueish-green
wit a dark border, on fore wing less than 1 mm wing. In all
species studied the eggs are set with numerous spines
situated in the nodes of quadrangular cells.
The genus includes 9 species from Primorie, Priamurie, NE
China, Korea and Japan.
338. Favonius orientalis (Murray, 1875).
TYPE LOCALITY: Japan.
RANGE: Middle Priamurie, Primorie, NE China, Korea, Japan.
The report for the Kunashir (Konovalova, 1966) in fact
refers to N. jezoensis (V.V. Dubatolov).
HABITAT: forests with the particopation of the oak.
FLIGHT PERIOD: June/July.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Japan (Fukuda et al., 1984).
Foodplants: Querqus mongolica. Eggs: laid by 1-2 on the bark
of twig internodes; hibernating. The larva is found on leaf
underside, sometimes it gnaws the central vein of a leaf and
use the faded leaf as a shelter. Mature larva: blueish-grey
with a dark back line and lateral light slanting streaks.
Pupa: brownish with dark markings; lies in the leaf fall at
the tree base.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 16-21 mm. As different from
F. taxila, F. ultramarinus, F. latifasciatus, and F.
jezoensis, the dark border on hind wing upperside in males
is less than 1 mm (about 0.5 mm), widening only at tail
base; in females wing upperside brown with a large vague
light spot at transversal vein of fore wing. In both sexes
wing underside is greyish with the dark discal strokes on
the fore wing more distinct than in F. korshunovi and F.
aquamarinus, white postdiscal stripes being wider. Tail long
(up to 6 mm), filiform. In male genitalia the apical part of
valva is narrowed, without the tooth on dorsal edge.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: the continental part of the
range is inhabited by ssp. schischkini Kurenzov, 1970 (=
primoriensis Murayama, 1978).
339. Favonius korshunovi Dubatolov et Sergeev, 1982
(= macrocerus Wakabayashi et Fukuda, 1985).
TYPE LOCALITY: S Primorie; the Gamov Peninsula, the Vityaz' Bay.
RANGE: Priamurie (Blagoveshchensk, Khabarovsk), S Primorie
(the Khasan district), N Korea.
HABITAT: oak woods, rarely other type broad-leaved or mixed
forests with participation of the oak. The imagines keep
to the oak crowns, in the evenig they often form small
swarms.
FLIGHT PERIOD: July/middle August.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 18-20 mm. As different
from F. taxila, F. ultramarinus, F. latifasciatus, and F.
jezoensis, the dark border on hind wing upperside in males
is less than 1 mm, widening only at tail base; ground colour
has a stronger lustre than in N. aquamarinus. In females
wing upperside brown with two small light-orange spots at
transversal vein of fore wing. In both sexes wing underside
ground colour is darker than in F. aquamarinus, ash-grey in
males and greyish-brown in females; as different from F.
orientalis, the dark discal strokes are hardly seen;
postdiscal white stripe on hind wing narrow (0.5 mm wide).
Tail about 4 mm long, filiform. In male genitalia the apical
part of valva is twice narrowed, with a large tooth at the
middle of dorsal edge (Dubatolov, Sergeev, 1982).
ETYMOLOGY: Yurii Petrovich Korshunov (born in 1933), a
researcher at Biological Institute, later - Institute of
Systematics and Ecology of Animals in Novosibirsk, a member
of International European Lepidopterological Society, one of
the authors of this book.
340. Favonius aquamarinus Dubatolov et Sergeev, 1987.
TYPE LOCALITY: S Primorie; the Gamov Peninsula, the
Telyakovskiy's Bay.
RANGE: S Primorie.
HABITAT, FLIGHT PERIOD: Three specimens (two males and a
female) of the type series were collected by V.V.Dubatolov
on 16th and 18th July 1979 on an edge of a broad-leaved wood
with Querqus mongolica and Q. dentata.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: presumably of this species were studied
in Primorie by Dantchenko et al. (1995). In captivity the
females laid eggs mostly on the buds of oak branches. Eggs:
white, hemisphaeric, about 0.9 mm in diameter, resemble
those of N. ultramarinus. The larvae were fed on Quercus
robur, they accept the meal only at night, resting on thick
branches at daytime. Mature larva: dark-grey with a dark
line along back, lighht slanting stroke laterally of it on
segments 3-9, and large light trapezia-shaped spot on
segment 10.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 15-18 mm. As different
from F. taxila, F. ultramarinus, F. latifasciatus, and F.
jezoensis, the dark border on hind wing upperside in males
is narrow, about 0.5 mm, widening only at tail base; ground
colour more dull than in N. korshunovi. In females wing
upperside brown with two small light-orange spots at
transversal vein of fore wing, on fore wing there can be
also a violet spot stretched along anal edge. Wing underside
ground colour light-grey in males and greyish-brown in
females; dark discal strokes are better expressed than in F.
korshunovi but less than in F. orientalis; postdiscal white
stripe on hind wing narrower (0.5 mm wide) than in F.
orientalis. Tail about 4 mm long, filiform. In male
genitalia the apical part of valva is not narrowed, at the
middle of its dorsal edge there is a large tooth (Dubatolov,
Sergeev, 1982).
341. Favonius taxila (Bremer, 1864) (= aurorinus Oberthur,
1880; cognatus Staudinger, 1892).
TYPE LOCALITY: S Primorie: "Oberhhalbe Ema" (probably the
Iman River [at present - the Bol'shaya Ussurka River] was
implied).
RANGE: Middle Priamurie (from the Bureya River to the city
Komsomol'sk-na-Amure), Primorie, NE China, Korea, Japan
(Hokkaido, Honshu), reported for the southern Kuriles.
HABITAT: forests with participation of the oak. The imagines
keep to tree crowns, in the evenig they often fly in small
swarms, sometimes visit flowers.
FLIGHT PERIOD: starts earlier than in other green zephyrs,
late June/early Sptember.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Primorie (Dantchenko et al.,
1995). Foodplants: Quercus mongolica. Eggs: whitish,
haemispheric, in numerous spines absent a the apical dimple;
laid singly at the bud bases and hibernate. The larvae hatch
when the buds start to open. In the first instar
they live under bud scales. Mature larva resembles a bud:
reddish-brown with small prominences on the back of segments
3-8; there is an interrupted white line along back,
laterally of which there are slanting white strokes on
segments 1-7 and two wide divergent stripes on segments 8-9;
there is a white interrupted line above legs. Pupa: pale-
brown with dark markings.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 16-19 mm. As different
from F. orientalis, F. korshunovi, and F. aquamarinus, the
dark border on hind wing upperside in males is not narrower
than 1 mm, as different from F. latifasciatus, alcohol
wetting turns ground colour to be violet. In females wing
upperside brown with an orange spot at transversal vein of
fore wing. Wing underside ground colour greyish-brown in
both sexes; without dark discal strokes; postdiscal white
stripe on hind wing narrower than in F. ultramarinus, F.
jezoensis. Tail about 4 mm long, filiform.
342. Neozephirus ultramarinus (Fixen, 1887).
TYPE LOCALITY: Korea: "Pung-Tung" (the mountains at about 38o n.lat.
and 128o e.long.)
RANGE: S Primorie (the Khasan District), NE China, Korea, Japan.
HABITAT: open oak woods on mountain slopes, other broad-
leaved forests with participation of Quercus dentata.
FLIGHT PERIOD: middle July/late August.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Primorie (Dantchenko et al.,
1995). Foodplants: Quercus dentata. Eggs: as in F. taxila,
laid singly into bark crevices and folds on thick branches
of the foodplant. The young larva makes a shelter by
spinning the scales of the bud or inflorescence with silk,
later it keeps to the trunk bases. Mature larva: varies from
light-grey to dark greyish-brown, with a dark line along
back which on segments 1-9 is contacted by light-grey trapezia-
shaped spots. Segments 10 and 12 are somewhat lighter than
others. In the larvae of this species sexual dimorphism has been
revealed (Dantchenko et al., 1995): females are darker than
males. Pupa: pale-brown with dark spots grouped on sides and
along back; found mostly on the bark.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 18-22 mm. As different
from F. orientalis, F. korshunovi, and F. aquamarinus, the
dark border on hind wing upperside in males is not narrower
than 1 mm (about 0.7 mm wide), is to some extent widened on
hind wing. In females wing upperside brown with two orange
or white spot at transversal vein of fore wing. Wing
underside ground colour silvery-grey in both sexes; on hind
wing with postdiscal white stripe wider (up to 1.5 mm) than
in F. taxila, which is not tapering to anal angle as in F.
latifacsiatus. Tail about 3 mm long, filiform.
343. Neozephirus jezoensis (Matsumura, 1915).
TYPE LOCALITY: Japan: Hokkaido.
RANGE: Korea and Japan. In our fauna this species is
reliably known from the Kunashir, was erroneously reported
from Vladivostok and Selemdzha.
HABITAT: oak, rarely other broad-leaved or mixed forests of
the south-western coast of the island.
FLIGHT PERIOD: middle June/late August.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Japan (Fukuda et al., 1984).
Foodplant: Quercus. Eggs: greyish, laid singly or in small
batches on the branches, twigs, in the bark crevices;
hibernate. Larva: similar with that of N. ultramarinus;
found usually on the bark of trunk or branches, it moves
actively. Pupa: brown with dark marking.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 16-19 mm. As different
from F. orientalis, F. korshunovi, and F. aquamarinus, the
dark border on hind wing upperside in males is not narrower
than 1 mm, as different from F. latifasciatus, F.
ultramarinus, F. taxila, the border is not widened at fore
wing anal angle. Wing underside ground colour greyish in
both sexes; postdiscal white stripe on hind wing wide, not
tapering to anal angle as in F. latifacsiatus; in female it
is split into V-shaped spots. Tail short, about 2 mm long,
widened basally.
344. Neozephirus latifasciatus (Shirozu et Hayashi, 1959).
TYPE LOCALITY: Japan: Honshu.
RANGE: Middle Priamurie, Primorie with the adjacent minor islands,
NE China, Korea, Japan (Honshu).
HABITAT: forests with participation of the oak.
FLIGHT PERIOD: July/September.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Japan (Fukuda et al., 1984).
Foodplants: Quercus (in Japan mostly Q. dentata). Eggs:
whitish, laid by 1-2 on the bark of twigs or by butches up
to 40 ones on the trunk bark; they hibernate. The larva
feeds at night, at daytime the young larva hides under the
bud scales, in later instars - under the leaf fall on the
ground. Mature larva: light- or blueish-brown, set with
short setae; it is more flat than in N. ultramarinus and N.
jezoensis, with a similar ornament. Pupa: pale-brown with
small dark spots; lies on the ground under dead leaves or
gravel.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 16-20 mm. As different
from F. orientalis, F. korshunovi, and F. aquamarinus, the
dark border on hind wing upperside in males is not narrower
than 1 mm, as different from F. ultramarinus, F. taxila, F.
jesoensis, alcohol wetting turns ground colour to be brown.
In females wing upperside brown with a diffuse whitish spot
at transversal vein of fore wing. Wing underside ground
colour greyish in both sexes; postdiscal white stripe on
hind wing wide (1-1.5 mm), tapering to anal angle. Tail
about 2 mm long, relatively wide.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: On the continent ssp. ussuriensis
Murayama, 1960 (= vitjaz Dubatolov et Sergeev, 1982) is
distributed, differing from the nominotypical one by a
larger orange spot at tail base on hind wing underside
(Dubatolov, Sergeev, 1982).
345. Neozephirus saphirinus (Staudinger, 1887).
TYPE LOCALITY: S Primorie: the Askold island.
RANGE: Primorie and Middle Priamurie (downstream of the Malyy
[Minor] Hingan mountain range), NE China, Korea, Japan.
HABITAT: broad-leaved forests with participation of oak.
FLIGHT PERIOD: middle July/middle August.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Japan (Fukuda et al., 1984),
S Primorie (Dantchenko et al., 1995), and the environs of
Khabarovsk (Graeser, 1888). Foodplants: Quercus dentata,
less frequently Q. mongolica. Eggs: as in F. taxila; laid
singly or in batches by up to 10 ones on twigs, branches of
buds, hibernate. The larva of the first instars feeds on
young leaves and inflorescences, makes a shelter. Mature
larva: yellowish or reddish-brown, with a dark dorsal line
contacted by light trapezia-shaped spots. Pupa: pale-
brown with small dark spots; it is found inside halled
branches or in the leaf fall.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 15-18 mm. In males wing
upperside has a more dull metallic greenish-blue lustre than
in other our species of the genus; in females it is brown
with a wague lightening distally of the transversal vein of
fore wing. In both sexes wing underside is silvery-white
with a nacreous bloom, dark discal strokes and a wide
obscure lighter stripe on the hind wing. Tail short, about 2
mm.
GENUS QUERCUSIA Verity, 1943.
Type species Papilio quercus Linnaeus, 1758.
A monotypical genus.
346. Neozephirus quercus (Linnaeus, 1758).
TYPE LOCALITY: England.
RANGE: Europe (except for the North), N Africa, Anterior
Asia, S Ural (the basins of the Belaya and Sakmara Rivers).
HABITAT: open oak woods on mountain slopes, mixed wood
edges, bush thickets.
FLIGHT PERIOD: late June/early August.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplant: Quercus, reported are also
Padus avium, Corylus, Fraxinus, Salix. Eggs: flat, whitish-
grey or brownish, set with numerous spines, more wide and
less acute than in species of Neozephyrus and Favonius,
situated at the nodes of quadrangular cells (Dantchenko et
al., 1995). The eggs are laid singly on branches at bases of
the buds. Larva: reddish-brown with a dark line along back,
bordered by light triangular spots, and dark-brown slanting
streaks on the sides; lives solitarily, in captivity often
eats other larvae; hibernates. Pupa: reddish-brown with dark
dots and spots, placed in loose silken shelter on different
parts of the foodplant; being disturbed it utters a creaky
sound.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 13-15 mm. In males wing
upperside metallic violet with a wide dark border, in
females brown with a large violet area on fore wing
stretched along anal edge.
TRIBUS DEUDORIGINI
GENUS RAPALA Moore, 1881.
Type species: Thecla varum Horsfield, [1829].
F.w.l. in our species: 14-17 mm. Wing upperside of
metallic blue or violet colours, underside light-grey with
wide dark transversal bands and a large orange spot at the
base of a filiform tail.
The genus includes more than 30 species from E and SE Asia
and Australia.
347. Rapala arata (Bremer, 1861).
TYPE LOCALITY: the mountains of Bureya abd the Ussuri River.
RANGE: The southern ranges of the mountains of Bureya,
Middle and Lower Priamurie, Primorie, the Sakhalin (the
Tymovskiy District), the South Kuriles, NE China, Korea,
Japan.
HABITAT: brook banks, meadows, edges of montane mixed
forests.
FLIGHT PERIOD: in South Primorie probably in two broods,
from late May to late August; in more northern regions - in
a single brood in June.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Japan (Fukuda et al., 1984).
Foodplants: Lespedeza bicolor is known from Priamurie
(Graeser, 1888), from Japan reported are representatives of
more than ten plant families, such as Fabaceae,
Saxifragaceae, Ericaceae, Rhamnaceae, Fagaceae. Eggs: light-
blueish-green, laid singly on the buds, leaves, or
inflorescences. The larva feeds mostly on inflorescences,
buds, or berries, it is actively visited by ants. Its colour
depends on the foodplant and may be brownish, greenish, or
purple. The eighth abdominal segment bears a figured
projection; on sides there are light slanting streaks. Pupa:
reddish-brown with dark markings, lies on the ground among
the leaf fall, hibernates.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 14-17 mm. Wing upperside
dark-violet with a dark outer border, which is wider in
females, veins are not distinct.
- Rapala caerulea (Bremer et Grey, 1852).
TYPE LOCALITY: the Peking environs.
RANGE: North-East and Central China, Korea. A male of the
nominotypical subspecies has been collected by A.V. Tsvetaev in
the surroundings of Ussuriysk in South Primorie in July 1964.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 16-17 mm. Wing upperside
light-blue with a dark outer border which in females is
strongly widened in fore wing; the veins are dark and
distinct.
TRIBUS EUMAEINI Doubleday, 1847.
GENUS NORDMANNIA Tutt, 1907.
Type species: Lycaena myrtale Klug,, 1834.
F.w.l.: 11-16 mm. In both sexes wing upperside brown, on
underside there is an interrupted white postdiscal line and
orange-red spots at hind wing outer margin which are
sometimes fused into a cotiguous band; hind wing usually
bears a thread-like tail at anal angle. Eggs hibernate. The
pupae are attached with a silk belt. The imagines often feed
and rest on the inflorescences of Apiaceae.
A Palearctic genus with more than 20 species, concentrating in
S Europe, Anterior and East Asia.
348. Nordmannia herzi (Fixsen, 1887).
TYPE LOCALITY: Korea:"Pung-Tung" (the mountains at about 38o n.lat.
/ 128o e. long.)
RANGE: E Zabaykalye (the Baleiskii and Ononskii District),
Priamurye (donwstream to the city Konsomol'sk-na-Amure),
Primorye, NE China, Korea.
HABITAT: wood edges, openin tree stand in valley brows-
leaved forests, in Primorye also open apple-tree stands,
gardens, parks.
FLIGHT PERIOD: middle June/early August.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: Malus mandshurica, M.
baccata, Pyrus ussuriensis in Priamurye and Primorye
(Graeser, 1888; Kurentzov, 1970); Malus baccata in SE
Zabaikalye (O. Koserin). Sometimes the larvae appear in mass
quantitatives and hence cause a serious damage to the apple-
trees.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 13-16
mm. In both sexes wing upperside dark-brown, underside brown
with two rows of black spots at outer margin of both wings;
the tail is replaced with a pointed prominence.
ETYMOLOGY: Otto Fedorovich Herz (1852-1905) - a keeper of
the Great Duke Nikolay Romanovich's collection in the
Zoological Museum of the Imperor Academy of Sciences.
349. Nordmannia pruni (Linnaeus, 1758).
TYPE LOCALITY: Germany.
RANGE: The temperate Eurasia, in Siberia northwards to the
southern taiga, the Sakhalin, Japan (Hokkaido).
HABITAT: wood edges, open tree stands, bush thickets in
various type forests with participation of the bird cherry,
forest-steppe groves, gardens.
FLIGHT PERIOD: middle June/middle July.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: Padus, reported are also
Prunus, Sorbus, and other arboreal and fruticose Rosaceae.
Eggs: light, with quadrangular cells; laid singly or in
small batches in bark crevices or on twigs of the foodplant.
Larva: pinkish in youth; in maturity green with a dark
dorsal line, a yellow streak above legs and slanting
yellowish streaks on sides; head pale-brown. It lives
solitarily and eats buds and flowers; hibernates. Pupa:
whitish, with a wide convex abdomen; wing cases, fore and
middle thoracal segments and a brand on dorsal side of
abdomen are cream-colured; it is usually tightly belted on
the upper side of a foodplant leaf.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 14-17 mm. On fore wing
underside there is one row of black spots at outer margin;
at outer margin of hind wing underside there is a bright-
orange stripe tapering to fore margin.
350. Nordmannia prunoides (Staudinger,1887).
TYPE LOCALITY: Vladivostok and Ust'-Kamenogorsk.
RANGE: the mountains of South Siberia, the southern Far
East, Mongolia, NE China, Korea. A local species becoming
relatively rare eastwards of the West Sayan.
HABITAT: river valleys, gorges of the lower montane forest
belt, bush formations on southern slopes and wood edges. The
imagines were observed to feed on the flowers of Cardamine,
Spiraea, Myosotis, Veronica, Apiaceae, Allium.
FLIGHT PERIOD: middle June/early August.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in the Novosibirsk Region. Foodplants (V.V.
Dubatolov): Spiraea in the Novosibirsk region and Altai, for the Russian
Far East Padus avium and P. maackii have been also reported. Hibernation
occurs at the egg or larval stage. Larva: green with a dark line along
back and a row of obscure light slanting streaks on either side; the
head black. Pupa: pale-brown, set with short fine hairs; it is tightly
belted on a leaf.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 12-14 mm. On fore wing
underside there is no row of black spots at outer margin; on
hind wing underside the white line has slight blunt
fractures at anal angle, the bright-orange stripe is
accompanied internally with a row of small black spots.
SYSTEMATIC NOTES: Recently a new species Nordmannia runides
Zhdanko, 1990 has been described by old collections in
Zabaikalye (the town Sretensk, 13-26th July 1930) which is
similar with F. prunoides by many features, while the
diagnostic traits are variable. We did not studied the type
materials.
351. Nordmannia w-album (Knoch, 1782).
TYPE LOCALITY: Leipzig.
RANGE: Europe (except for the North-East), Anterior Asia,
South Ural and, after a tremendous disjunction, Zabaikalye,
Priamurye, Primorye, the Sakhalin, the S Kuriles, NE China,
Korea, Japan.
HABITAT: edges of broad-leaved and mixed woods, bush
thickets, parks, orchards, wind-breaking stripes; in SE
Zabaikalye - thickets of Ulmus pumila and U. macrocarpa on
valley boards.
FLIGHT PERIOD: in S Ural middle June/middle July in the
West, early July/middle August in the East.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: from Europe reported are
Quercus, Ulmus (U. laevis, U. propinqua, and others), Alnus,
Fraxinus, Tilia, Fraxinus, arboreal Rosaceae, such as
Prunus, Malus, Padus; in SE Zabaikalye Ulmus pumila and U.
macroacrpr. Eggs: brownish, flattened, with a network of
ribs forming quadrangular cells with small spinules at
nodes; in ssp. sutschani they are more roundish and with
more distinct ribs, that allowed to suppose non-
conspecificity of this subspecies to N. w-album (Dantchenko
et al., 1995). The eggs are laid singly on the bark or at
the buds of the foodplant. Larvae and pupae are in general
similar in Europe (Eckstein, 1913; other authors) as well as
in SE Zabaikalye (V. Dubatolov, O. Kosterin). Larva:
yellowish-green with two rows of light knobs on back and a
row of slanting dark-green streaks along either side,
ventral side is light-green with red dots. It feeds on buds,
flowers, young leaves, and fruits. Pupa: dark-brown, covered
with light hairs, attached to the branches or on the trunk
bark.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 13-16 mm. On hind wing
underside the white line has acute fractures forming a W-
like pattern; hind wing often bears two tails; males on hind
wing upperside have a light sex-brand, as different from N.
eximia, it is small, narrowly-oval-shaped.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: ssp. w-album ranges eastwards to the
southern Zauralie. In Zabaikalye, Priamurye, and Primorye
there is distributed ssp. sutschani Tutt., 1907; in the
Sakhalin and S Kuriles - ssp. fentoni Butler, 1881.
352. Nordmannia eximia (Fixen, 1887).
TYPE LOCALITY: Korea:"Pung-Tung" (the mountains at about 38o n.lat.
/ 128o e. long.)
RANGE: Middle Priamurye, Primorye, E Mongolia (the Sukhe-Bator
aimak), North-East and Central China, Korea.
HABITAT: wood edges, river valleys, bushes in broad-leaved
and mixed forests.
FLIGHT PERIOD: late July/September.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Primorye (Dantchenko et al.,
1995). Foodplants: Rhamnus diamantiaca, Rh. ussuriensis.
Eggs resemble those of N. latior, but the spines are
shorter; laid by 1-4 on the foodplant young branches.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 13-16 mm. On hind wing
underside the white line has fractures forming a V-like
pattern, or it is interrupted, at the anal angle there is a
large red area with a small blue spot at tail base; in
males the light sex brand is larger than in F. w-album,
regularly oval shaped.
353. Nordmannia spini (Denis et Schiffermuller, 1775).
TYPE LOCALITY: Vienna.
RANGE: Europe (except for the North), Anterior Asia, South
Ural.
HABITAT: edges of broad-leaved and mixed woods, river
valleys, bush thickets.
FLIGHT PERIOD: late June/early August, depending on the locality.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Europe (Eckstein, 1913; other
authors). Foodplants: Rhamnus catharica, Frangula alnus,
less frequently arboreal Rosaceae (Malus, Prunus, Sorbus).
Eggs: light-green or greyish, flat, with a fine reticulate
sculpture; laind singly or in small groups. Larva: green
with three yellowish lines along back and two rows of
papillae of the same colour between them, a row of slanting
white or yellowish streaks and a light line beneath it on
either side; head black. The larva hibernates. Pupa:
brownish with dark markings.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 14-16 mm. On hind
wing underside the white line has fractures forming a V-like
pattern, at anal angle there is a large blue spot. Similar
species: N. latior.
354. Nordmannia latior (Fixsen, 1887)
TYPE LOCALITY: Korea: the Pung-Tung mountains.
RANGE: East Zabaikalye, Upper and Middle Priamurye,
Primorye, NE China, N. Korea. Reported by T. Yurinskii
(1907) for the southern Pribaikalye (Irkutsk).
HABITAT: River and brook valleys, edges, glades,
openings in broad-leaved and mixed forests, parks,
settlements.
FLIGHT PERIOS: July/first part of August.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Primorye (Dantchenko et al.,
1995). Foodplant: Rhamnus ussuriensis. Eggs: greyish, flat
with a network of distinct ribs and numerous acute spinules
at the nodes of quadrangular cells. Laid by groups varying
from 2 (in furcations of thin branches) to 80 (at bases of
thick branches). Pupa is found in the litter.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 16-18 mm. Differs from N.
spini by a larger size and a larger red spots on hind wing
underside.
355. Nordmannia ilicis (Esper, 1799).
TYPE LOCALITY: Germany: Erlangen.
RANGE: Europe (except for the North), Anterior Asia, South
Ural (the Belaya and Sakmara River basins).
HABITAT: open woodland on dry slopes, edges of broad-leaved
forests, bush thickets.
FLIGHT PERIOD: late June/middle August.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: Quercus robur, reported also
Rhamnus cathartica, arboreal Rosaceae: Prunus, Padus. Eggs:
white, glossy, finely wrinkled, laid singly on young
foodplant trees. Larva: light-green, evenly coloured or with
a dark line along back and a row of slanting yellowish
streaks and a yellowish line beneath it on either side; body
is set with fine red hairs; head and legs black. The larva
is carnivorous, it prefers to keep to leaf underside and is
usually found in coppices of young foodplants; hibernates.
Pupa: light-brown or yellowish-grey with three rows of dark
spots, covered with short reddish-grey hairs; it is usually
attached to twigs or grass low above the ground.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 16-18 mm. On hind wing
underside the white line is replaced by a row of separate
white strokes, there are seleral orange spots at outer
margin, there is no blue spot at tail base. Similar species:
N. acaciae.
356. Nordmannia acaciae (Fabricius, 1787).
TYPE LOCALITY: S Russia.
RANGE: S Europe, Anterior Asia, South Ural (the Belaya and
Sakmara River basins).
HABITAT: bushy dry slopes, ravines, edges of broad-leaved
and mixed woods.
FLIGHT PERIOD: early June/middle July.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Europe (Eckstein, 1913; other
authors). Foodplants: Prunus spinosa and other Rosaceae.
Eggs: flattened, whitish. Larva: yellow- or grass-green with
two yellow lines along back and a row of slanting light
streaks on either side; head black.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 14-16 mm. Wing underside
ground colour lighter than in N. ilicis. On hind wing
underside the white line is narrow and interrupted, without
fractures at anal angle there are 2-3 small orange spots at
outer margin and a blue spot at tail base.
GENUS NEOLYCAENA Niceville, 1890.
Type species: Lycaena sinensis Alpheraky, 1881.
F.w.l.: 11-15 mm. The wings have a dark-brown upperside
and brown underside with a pattern of separate white
markings. These butterflies are trophically connected with
the Caragana bushes (Fabaceae).
The genus includes seven species inhabiting the arid regions of
Eurasia.
357. Neolycaena rhymnus (Eversmannm, 1832).
TYPE LOCALITY: the Volga River basin: Sergievsk.
RANGE: SE Europe, S Ural, S Zauralye (the Tobol River
valley), Kazakhskii Melkosopochnik [Kazakh Hilly Land], West
and South Altai (the Bukhtarma and Kurchum River basins, and
other sites). A local species.
HABITAT: steppes on mountain slopes with Caragana bushes, on
lowlands this species is seldom found at wind-break stripes
and at settlements where it is probably connected with the
cultivated Caragana arborescens. The feeding of imagines was
observed on the flowers of various plants: Goniolimon
speciosum, Phlomis tuberosa, Leonurus, Tanacetum, Heracleum,
Spiraea, Viburnum, and others.
FLIGHT PERIOD: late May/late June, but usually no more than
for a fortnight.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplant: Caragana frutex (Bartel,
1914).
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 11-14 mm. On hind wing
underside there is a distinct white spot in cell; orange
spots at outer margin are vague or absent. Similar species:
N. falkovitchi.
358. Neolycaena falkovitchi Zhdanko et Korshunov, 1985.
TYPE LOCALITY: Kemerovo Region: the village Myski.
RANGE: An endemic species for the Kuznetskoe Nagorye Upland
(the Tom' River basin, the surroundings of city Biyks).
HABITAT: forest meadows, mostly in river valleys, bushy
slopes. According to observations of V.V. Ivonin in the
Kondoma River (a tributary of the Tom') basin, the imagines
keep to Caragana and Spiraea bushes on hill slopes or to
valley herb meadows where they feed on the flowers of
Asteraceae plants.
FLIGHT PERIOD: late May/early July.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Probable foodplant: Caragana frutex.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 11-14 mm. Hind wing
underside has a yellowish tint, white spot in cell is vague
or absent; orange spots at outer margin are weakly
expressed. Similar species: N. rhymnus.
ETYMOLOGY: Mark Isaakovich Fal'kovich - a lepidopterologist
at the Zoological Institute, StPetersburg, in 50s years
collected butterflies on Kuznetskoe Nagorye.
359. Neolycaena davidi (Oberthur, 1881).
TYPE LOCALITY: NE China.
RANGE: Tuva (the surroundings of the city Kyzyl, the
settlements Erzin and Moren, the Shivilig-Khem river), the
southern Pribaikalye (the Irkut River) and southern
Zabaikalye (the Temnik and Chikoi Rivers in Buryatia, the
settlement Kyra, the Onon River, Lakes Bol'shoy Chindant and
Torei in the Chita Region); known also from Mongolia and the
Great Hingain Mts. in China.
HABITAT: steppes and forest-steppes, with Caragana bushes,
mostly in intermontane hollows. In the montane forest belt
the species occurs on steppen patches on steep rocky south-
exposed slopes.
FLIGHT PERIOD: middle July/middle August.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: In S Buryatia (the Temnik River) females
were observed to lay eggs singly on twigs and branches of
Caragana pygmea bushes, usually at the lee side of the upper
parts of their crowns (Baranchikov, 1979a). Eggs (as
described by Yu.N.Baranchikov): white, with spherical
numerous cells, adpressed apically and basally. In Tuva the
butterflies keep to Caragana spinosa. In the Dahurian Nature
Reserve (the Chita Region) the larvae were found by V.V.
Dubatolov on Caragana microphylla, they ate leaves, later
mostly flower buds and flowers. Mature larva: light-green
with two light dorlas lines and, on segments 5-9, slanting
lateral streaks, sligtly curved on segments 5-7 and straight
on segments 8-9, and a white stripe above legs. Each
abdominal segment bears two hilly prominence on dorsal side,
larva's back sooking wawy in profile. The body is covered
with thin hairs, dark on thoracic segments and whitish on
abdominal ones. Pupa: dark brown with small black specks,
pubescent due to light hair; attached with a silken belt on
foodplant branches.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 13-15 mm. On hind wing
underside at outer margin there is a distinct row of fused
orange spots bordered at both sides by large black dots.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: The butterflies from Tuva and
S Pribaikalie well differ from specimens from Zabaikalye by
smaller red spots on hind wing underside. Probably they
indeed are a good species described from the Irkutsk
environs as Neolycaena irkuta Zhdanko, 1994 andfrom Tuva as
N. sajana Zhdanko, 1994 (Zhdanko, 1994).
ETYMOLOGY: Armand David - a French missionary in China,
collected butterflies for C. Oberthur in the southern part of the
Bol'shoy Khingan Mts.
GENUS CALLOPHRYS Billberg, 1820.
Type species: Papilio rubi Linnaeus, 1758.
F.w.l.: 13-16 mm. In both sexes wing upperside brown,
underside green.
A Holarctic genus including about 20 species, the majority of
which belong to North American Fauna.
360. Callophrys rubi (Linnaeus, 1758).
TYPE LOCALITY: Sweden.
RANGE: The temperate Eurasia northwards, in the Ob' basin,
to the forest-tundra, the Sakhalin.
HABITAT: wood edges, open tree stands, river valleys, bush
thickets and bogs in the forests of various types, on the
lowlands and in the mountains. In the southern far East it
inhabits bogged larch woods and the meadows in the upper
part of the mountain forest belt. The imagines often visit
flowers, such as Adonis altaica, Ranunculus repens,
Polygonum bistorta, Chamaecystis ruthenicus, Spiraea, Padus,
and rest on the leaves of bushes and trees.
FLIGHT PERIOD: May/June in the temperate zone, late
June/early July in the subpolar regions and the Kunashir .
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Main foodplants: in the lower Ob' River
basin: Vaccinium uliginosum (Vacciniaceae); in the southern
taiga zone: species of the genera Rubus and Spiraea
(Rosaceae); in the forest-steppe and steppe regions:
Fabaceae (Caragana, Chamaecystis, Hedysarum, Trifolium,
Medicago, Onobrychis). From Europe reported are also: other
Rosaceae (Malus, Prunus, Sorbus) and Vacciniaceae
(Arctostaphylos uva-ursi), Grossulariaceae (Ribes nigrum),
Ericaceae (Ledum), Scrophulariaceae (Veronica), Rhamnaceae
(Rhamnus, Frangula alnus), Eleagnaceae (Hippophae
rhamnoides). Eggs: green, button-shaped, with fine
wrinkling, laid singly. Larva: green with a dark-rimmed
yellow or dark line, accompanied by dark triangular
markings, along back and a yellow line above legs (which is
lighter than that on back); set with short light hairs; head
brown. It lives solitarily, often contacts with ants, may
eat other caterpillars. Pupa: bean-shaped, brown with light
warts and short bristles. It lies in a frail cocoon or
freely at the foodplant base, hibernates. Being disturbed,
it produces crunching sounds.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 13-16 mm. Wing upperside
dark-brown, underside green with or without (f.
immaculata) white dots. As different from C. suaveola, the
anal prominence are are well expressed on hind wing.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: poorly studied. Butterflies from
Ural are most close to ssp. boreaqlis Krulikovsky, 1890,
those originated from more easterly regions - to sibirica
Heyne in Ruhl, 1895.
361. Callophrys suaveola (Staudinger, 1881).
TYPE LOCALITY: the Dzhungarian Alatau Mts.: Lepsinsk.
RANGE: S Ural (the station Kuvandyk environs), the mountains
of E Kazakhstan, Tien Shan.
HABITAT: patches of montane steppe. Both in S Ural and the
western Altai Mts. these butterflies keep to the bushes
of Spireae crenata, the flowers of which serve them as a source
of imaginal feeding.
FLIGHT PERIOD: middle May/late June.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 13-16 mm. As different from
C. suaveola, the
anal prominence on hind wing are weakly expressed or absent.
SYSTEMATICAL NOTE: From the S Ural (the Kungaktau mountain range)
the species Callophrys butlerovi Migranov, 1991 has
been described as very close to C. suaveola, somewhat larger anal
prominences on hind wing being the main diagnostic features (Migranov,
1992). However, the size of these prominences is a very variable character
(say, in the butterflies from W Altai) and, to our mind, could be sufficient f
separation of a new subspecies only.
GENUS AHLBERGIA Bryk, 1946.
Type species: Lycaena ferrea Butler, [1866].
F.w.l.: 11-14 mm. Wing upperside dark with metallic
areas, underside dark greyish-brown. Hind wing has a
conspicuous rounded projection at anal angle.
An insufficiently studied Paalearctic genus with not less
than 8 species.
362. Albergia frivaldszkyi (Kindermann in Lederer, 1853)
(= leei Johnson, 1992).
TYPE LOCALITY: W Altai: the settlement Ust'-Bukhtarminsk.
RANGE: The southern half of the forest zone eastwards of the Irtysh
River, the mountains of S Siberia, S Yakutia, NE Kazakhstan,
Mongolia, Priamurye, Primorye. A local species.
HABITAT, IMAGINAL BEHAVIOUR: in Siberia: forest biotopes in brook and
rivulet valleys, rocky and bushy slopes, in the mountains at low
altitudes only. On the elevation Priirtyshskiy Uval these butterflies
were discovered by I. Sil'chenko in narrow stripes of dark-needle woods
on northern slopes and in minor relief depressions. The imagines were
observed to feed on the flowers of Polygonum bistorta, Ranunculus
repens, Anemone altaica. In S Primorye (M.M. and M.A. Omelko, 1995)
these butterflies fly on forest openings and glades. At daytime they are
little active, mostly rest on withered litter among the grass, or feed
on the flowers of Corydalis repens, C. remota, Ranunculus, Lloydia
triflora etc. From 16-17 hr on open places males gather in groups. Each
individual chooses a separate bush or young tree, from which it from
time to time gets into the air swiftly to chase out their counterparts.
They do not rise to tree crowns.
FLIGHT PERIOD: on the Kuznetskoe Upland: early May/middle July,
depending on the locality, in S Primorye: late April/middle June.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: The last instar larvae were found by Yu.P.Korshunov
in the Krasnoyarsk environs on Spiraea hypercifolia on 4th-9th July,
(1969) when the imagines still flew. They were greenish with distinct
dark spots on the sides of each segment. They gnawed out the incisions
in the leaf sides resembling those made by the larvae of Neptis
rivularis. The pupation occured on 8th-15th July in rolled Spiraea
leaves; the pupae, set with sparse short hairs, hibernated. According to
observations in S Primorye by M.M. and M.A. Omel'ko (1995), larvae of
the taxon inopinata feed on Aruncus sylvestris (from the same
subfamily). Eggs are laid by 1-6 on the foodplant young (not flowering
yet) inflorescences in middle May. The larvae hatched on 22-26th May.
Young larvae pale-sand coloured set with long black chetae raising from
brownish plates; head dark-brown. Just before the first moult, when
first white flowers open, the larvae colouration changed to light
greenish-blue and lighter knobs appeared forming subdorsal and
substigmal lines, tops of subdorsal knobs being ochre-coloured, of
those of substigmal ones brown; anal plate brownish. The colouration of
tergirtes is similar to that of flower peduncles and buds, knobs
resemble anthers and withered corollae. The second and third instar
larvae light-green-blue with whitish knobs, their apices purple in the
second instar and chokolate-brown in the third one. The subdorsal knobs
are present on the second thoracic and 1st-6th abdominal segments, on
1st abdonimal segment they are large and dark-coloured entirely or into
a ghreater extent than others; 7th abdominal segment bears only white
bracket-shaped spot. The fourth instar larva 15-17 mm long, usually
greenish-olive or olive-green, alike the surrounded leaves. Pupation
took place in litter in the middle summer; the pupa hibernates. Pupa: 8-
9 mm, evenly dark brown, sometimes dorsal streaks are seen, set with
brown chetae.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 10-13 mm. Hind wing upperside has a
considerable suffusion of blue glittering scales, in males with a distint
dark border about 2 mm wide. On hind wing underside white strokes
absent or very weakly expressed; male sex brand as a narrow stroke on vein
M1, sometimes little contrasted. Similar species: A. korea.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: insufficiently studied. The recent publication
on the genus Albergia by Johnson (1992) did not clarified the situation.
It contains many errors, including the label data and even the type
locality of A. frivaldszkyi, mentioned as the Amur River. Ssp.
frivaldszkyi is known from W Altai. Specimens from the Kuznetskoe
Nagorie upland, Sayans, Stanovoe Nagorie upland are close to it.
Butterflies from Priamurye and Primorye differ by a light blue colour of
wing upperside and a reddish-brown (in spite of blackish-brown as in the
nominotypical subspecies) ground colour of wing underside. There are
also some differences in male genitalia structure (curvature of uncus
etc.). By these characters a new species Ahlbergia inopinata Omelko,
1995 was described from the Ussuriiskii Nature Reserve (S Primorye),
which we consider so far as a subspecies. Further materials: a male -
10.5.1959, S Primorye, the Suputinskii Nature Reservee (D. Kononov); a
male - 30.06.1974, S Primorye, the Sokolovka River valley (V.
Kuznetzov); a male - 13.06.1994, S Primorye, the village Romanovka, at
rocks (V. Dubatolov); 3 females - 30.05.1988, the Lower Priamurye, the
Komsomol'skii Nature Reserve (V.N. Olshvang). From the Tunkin Mts. the
species Ahlbergia tricaudata Johnson, 1992 has been described, while
from Mandshuria its subspecies aquilonaria Johnson, 1992. A. inopinata
may be a synonym of the latter.
ETYMOLOGY: Emerich Frivaldszky, von Frivald - an Austro-Hungarian
lepidopterologist working mostly on Turkish materials in 30-60s
years of XIX century.
363. Albergia korea Jonhson, 1992. (= ferrea auct. non Butler, 1868).
TYPE LOCALITY: Korea.
RANGE: Primorye, Middle and Lower Priamurye, NE China, Korea.
HABITAT: bush formations and meadows in river valleys within broad-
leaved and mixed forests, in the mountains goes up to 1700 m altitude.
The imagines often keep to the flowering willows. According to
observations by M.M. and M.A. Omel'ko (1995), the butterflies are active
in the first half of the day in tree crowns, including mornings after
frosty nights when other butterflies are incative. Males gather in small
groups, they sit on branch tips, on aspen often on inflorescences, and
are busking in the sun. They often get into the air to fly around their
perches or to chase out all large insects flying by. In a hot weather
the butterflies are frequent on wet ground.
FLIGHT PERIOD: middle April/late May in S. Primorye, June in Lower
Priamurye.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in S Primorye (Omel'ko and Omel'ko, 1995).
Foodplants: Lonicera gibbiflora (Caprifoliaceae) in valley forests,
Padus maacki (Rosaceae) in montane mixed forests. Oviposition was
observed in May on midday. On Lonicera the eggs were laid singly on a
leaf near its base; on Padus they were laid on inflorescences high above
the ground. Eggs: green-blue, their structure resembles that of A.
frivaldszkyi inopinata. The larvae hatch on 11th day. Young larva: at
first yellowish-grey or sand-coloured, few days later becomes greenish;
above set with black chetae; head muddy-brown, anal plate brown. The second
instar larva: green or greenish-yellow; set with numerous short brown
chetae, longer on back sides and lateral margins of tergites where they
form a sort of fringe. The larva eats mostly flowers, ovaries and
berries, changing for leaves only upon their shortige. The second and
third moult takes place usually on a leaf upperside near its base,
in rainy weather on underside, the larva resembling a ??незeлую berry.
The larva eats its exuvium after moults. Mature larva: 16-18 mm long,
green, before pupation becomes nuddy-violet. Recorede are contacts with
ants. Pupation takes place in late June/July, in litter. Pupa: 9-9.5 mm,
almost black, rarely brownish; it hibernates.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 11-14 mm. Wing upperside with poorly
developed dark-blue metallic flash in basal area only. On hind wing
underside there is a well expressed white dot at costal margin or white
transversal line; male sex brand as a light transversal stroke above
transversal vein. Similar species: A. frivaldskyi.
SUBFAMILIA LYCAENINAE [Leach], [1815]
Small butterflies with wings usually of orange or brown colours with
dark spots; on fore wing underside cell contains three black spots,
including that on the transversal vein; there is an orange stripe at
outer margin of hind wing underside. The larvae live mostly on sorrels
(Rumex) and Polygonum s. l. (Polygonaceae) .
GENUS LYCAENA Fabricius, 1807.
Type species: Papilio phlaeas Linnaeus, 1761.
A Holarctic genus including more than 10 species.
364. Lycaena helle (Denis et Schiffermuller, 1775)
(= amphidamas Esper, 1780).
TYPE LOCALITY: Vienna.
RANGE: The temperate Eurasia northwards to the forest-tundra zone,
except for the northern E Siberia and the Far East.
HABITAT: in Ural and Siberia - mostly wet forest meadows on the lowlands
and in the mounatis up to the tree-line. The imagines most frequently
visit the Ranunculus flowers. In Priamurye the butterflies are sometimes
observed on dry openings and places with open ground.
FLIGHT PERIOD: in two broods, in May/July and July/August in the
southern range; in one brood, in late June/early July, in the polar and
subpolar regions.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: Rumex aquaticus, R. acetosa, Polygonum
amphibium, P. bistorta. Eggs: flatened, with small dimples, white or
greenish with a dark apex, laid by 1-4 on the foodplants. Larva:
yellowish-green with a dark-green light rimmed back stripe and a
yellowish stripe above legs; covered with small yellowish warts densely
set with short hairs; head yellowish-orange. Pupa: yellowish-brown with
dark-rimmed spiracles and brown lines on wing cases; suspended on the
foodplant stem; hibernates.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 12-14 mm. On fore wing postdiscal
spots form an evenly curved row; hind wing underside mottled, with a row
of whitish spots at inner edge of marginal orange stripe; in males wing
upperside has a violet flash.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: The Siberian butterflies belong to the
subspecies phintonis Fruhstorfer, 1910.
365. Lycaena phlaeas (Linnaeus, 1761).
TYPE LOCALITY: Central Sweden.
RANGE: The non-tropical Eurasia northwards to the polar regions, N.
Africa, N America. A local species. In the North seems to keep to
mountainous regions.
HABITAT: forest, forest-steppe, and highland meadows, meadowy rocky
tundras.
FLIGHT PERIOD: in the North and mountains - in one brood in July, in the
temperate zone in two broods, in May/June and August.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: Rumex, Oxyria, Polygonum; besides,
Origanum vulgare (Lamiaceae) and Solidago (Asteraceae) were also
reported. Eggs: vary from light-grey to greenish, hemispheric with
relatively large dimples; laid by 1-2 on the foodplant flowers. Larva:
green with a reddish yellow-rimmed back line and a reddish line above
legs; covered with short hairs; head is reddish-brown. The larva is
visited by ants, hibernates. Pupa: yellowish- or greyish-brown with a
wide dark line along back and dark wing cases with light veins; found
under leaf fall close to the foodplant base or on the foodplant stems,
its stage lasts for about a month.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 12-16 mm. Postdiscal spots on
fore wing form three groups, hind wing underside ground colour even,
grey or ggreyish-brown; in males wing upperside lacks a violet flash.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: A very variable species, about 50 aberrations
and forms having been described. The nominotypical subspecies ranges in
the temperate zone of Ural and Siberia; the butterflies from Middle,
Subpolar, and Polar Ural, North Siberia, and Chukotka are close to the
Lapland subspecies polaris Courvoisier, 1911;
the southern Far East is inhabited by ssp. chinensis Felder, 1862l,
differing with a wide bright-orange submarginal band on hind wing
underside. Ssp. daimio Setz, 1909 (= kurilensis Matsumura,
1928; kuriliphlaeas Bryk, 1942) from the Sakhalin and S Kuriles
differs, in particular, with a darkened fore wing upperside in males of
the second brood. Two from Kamchatka was described as ssp. P. Gorbunov,
1995. Original description:
" ...Peculiar butterflies from Kamchatka are described as
Lycaena phlaeas ganalica P.Gorbunov, sbsp. n.
MALE: F.w.l. is 13.8 mm in the holotype, 14.1 in the paratype. The fore
wing upperside in the basal, discal and postdiscal areas is copper-
coloured with suffusion of dark scales and eight black spots, in general
it is darker than in other Siberian subspecies. The brown-grey margin is
about 2 mm wide. The fore wing apex seems to be more acute and the angle
of the outer and anal margins more blunt than in the subspecies phlaeas
and polaris. The hind wing upperside is ash-grey with, an orange streak
1.3-1.5 mm wide, with waving outer margin, along the wing outer margin.
The underside is light-grey, in the central area of the fore wing it is
yellowish-orange, generally noticeablylighter than in other Siberian
subspecies. The pattern of black spot repeats that of phlaeas and
polaris. The orange submarginal spots are almost invisible in the
holotype and are represented by a fragmented streak, containing of five
strokes, indented to 1.5-2 mm of the wing outer margin.
MATERIALS: the holotype: a male - 14.07.83, Kamchatka,
Ganal'skaya Tundra, (V.N.Olshvang). A paratype: a male -
14.07.83 the same locality."
Note: Y. Dubatolov and Y. Korshunov beleives this is not a
subspecies but just one more variety of this greatly variable species.
There are specimens from Kamchatka in the ISEA collection quite
different from the described one.
GENUS THERSAMONIA Verity, 1919.
Type species.: Papilio thersamon, Esper, 1784.
A Palearctic genus including about ten species.
366. Thersamonia thersamon (Esper, 1784).
TYPE LOCALITY: Povolzhye: Sarepta.
RANGE: The southern Middle and East Europe, Anterior and Central Asia,
Kazakhstan, S Ural, the southern W Siberia, N Altai, NW China.
HABITAT: steppefied meadows, the areas of meadow steppe at birch groves,
pine woods, in river valleys, the thickets of steppen bushes.
FLIGHT PERIOD: in two broods in May/middle June and July/August.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: Caragana frutex in S Ural (Migranov,
1991), Polygonum aviculare in Central Kazakhstan (Falkovich, 1969),
reported are also Lycium ruthenicum, Rumex. Eggs: pale-green, flattened
beneath, with relatively large dimples. Larva: green with a light line
along the back and above legs and, on either side, a row of dark
transversal streaks above the latter. Pupa: cylindrical, dark-brown
with narrow dark strokes.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 13-16 mm. Wing upperside orange
without a violet flash, in males wqithout discal spots, hind wing
upperside orange with an even and slight dark suffusion; butterflies of
the second brood often bear a tail at hind wing anal angle which in
females can reach the length of 2 mm.
GENUS THERSAMONOLYCAENA Verity, 1957.
Type species: Papilio dispar Haworth, 1803.
A Palearctic genus with eight species.
367. Thersamonolycaena violaceus (Staudinger, 1892) (= splendens auct.
non Staudinger, 1882).
TYPE LOCALITY: the Malakhanskiy mountain range: the settlement Kudara-
Somon.
RANGE: Altai (the Sarym-Sakty mountain range, the villages Shebalino and
Aktash), the East Sayan (the village Mondy), Pribaikalye (the Birkhin
Bay), Zabaikalye, Mongolia, N China; reported by A.I.Kurenzov (1970) for
the western slopes of the Verkhoyanskiy mountain range in Yakutia and by
A.B. Zhdanko (1992) for Primorye. A local species.
HABITAT: steppefied meadows on hills and in intermontane slopes. In SE
Zabaikalye the butterflies keep to a probable foodplant Rheum
rhabarbarum (V. Dubatolov, O. Kosterin), in Mongolia often observed on
steppen habitats at tussocks of the large grass Achnoterum splendens (=
Lasiagrostis splendens).
FLIGHT PERIOD: late June/late July.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 16-21 mm. Wing upperside orange with
black spots and a violet flash; hind wing upperside with dark suffusion
in basal part and black spots orange, with a dark suffusion on the basal
part and dark spots. The hind wing underside is greyish in both sexes.
Similar species: T. dispar.
368. Thersamonolycaena dispar (Haworth, 1803).
TYPE LOCALITY: England.
RANGE: The temperate Eurasia, in Siberia northwards to the middle taiga
zone, Central Yakutia. A local species.
HABITAT: meadows of various kinds, especially on river flood plains, at
bogs and lakes, vasting lands, wood edges.
FLIGHT PERIOD: in one or two broods, depending on the locality. In
Siberia mostly late June/August or, in S Ural, southern W Siberia, and S
Primorye, in June and August.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: Rumex aquaticus, R. confertus,
Polygonum, and others. The eggs are laid singly or in small clusters on
the foodplant leaf underside. Larva: dark-green with two whitish,
yellow-brown rimmed, lengthwise streaks on either side, back line is
vague; ventral side green, above pale-brown thoracic legs there are red
brands; the body is covered with very short velvety dark hairs; head
small and narrow, pale ochre-coloured with a black mouth. The larva is
often accompanied by ants. Pupa: ash-grey with small angular brown
spots.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 16-20 mm. In males wing upperside
orange-red without a violet flash and a dark suffusion on hind wing; in
females hind wing upperside dark-brown with an orange streak at outer
margin; hind wing underside greyish-blue in both sexes. Similar species:
T. violaceus.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: In E Europe, Ural and Siberia there ranges the
subspecies festiva Krulikowsky, 1909; from Pribaikalye and eastwards,
including Prilenskoe Plateau and the southern Far East ssp. aurata
Leech, 1807 (= parva Kurenzov, 1941) is known, differing by well
expressed black submarginal spots on hind wing underside and, in males,
absence of black discal spots on wing upperside. From Zabaikalye the
variation of this subspecies was described as ssp. daurica Graeser,
1888.
GENUS HEODES Dalman, 1816.
Type species: Papilio virgaureae Linnaeus, 1758.
A Palearctic genus with six species.
369. Heodes alciphron (Rottemburg, 1775).
TYPE LOCALITY: Berlin.
RANGE: Europe (except for the North and North-East), Anterior Asia, S
Ural, the southern W Siberia, Altai, the mountains of E Kazakhstan, by
scarse findings known further eastwards - from the E Sayan (the village
Mondy), Zabaikalye (the Onon and Chita River), Mongolia (the Central
Aimak), the northern Sikhote-Alin'(the station Vysokogornaya).
HABITAT: in Ural and W Siberia: meadow patches at the edges of "kolki"
[birch groves] and "bory" [pine woods], on mountain slopes, in river
valleys.
FLIGHT PERIOD: middle June/early August, depending on the locality.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: Rumex acetosa, etc. Eggs: greenish-
yellow; laid singly on the foodplant leaf underside. The larva
hibernates at early instars. It is almost evenly mate-green, obscure
lengthwise streaks on back and sides being whitish-green with dark
rims or brownish; head is brownish-black. Pupa: stout, rounded, with
back slightly concave, olive-green with dark streaks and numerous
small brownish spots; it is attached with thin silk threads to the
substrate at or on the ground and is surrounded with a loose silken
shelter.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 16-21 mm. In males wing upperside
violet with a slight suffusion with orange scales, more heavy on hind
wing; in females dark-brown without suffusion; hind wing underside grey
or ochre-grey.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: The butterflies of Ural and W Siberia are close to the
nominotypecal subspecies, differing by a somewhat lighter whig
underside ground colour. The name rubidus Korshunov, 1995, was proposed
in Korshunov & Gorbunov (1995) as follows: "...A male from Mongolia
described by Yu.P. Kosrhunov (1977) is designated here as Heodes
alciphron rubidus Korsunov, sbsp. n. Additional material: a female -
16.07.1939, the Chita River headwaters (E.I. Pavlova)". Translation of
the cited description, which should be considered as the original
description of the subspecies, is follwoing:
"Central [Aimak]: the stow Sudzukte, 15-16 VII 1925, 1 male
[(P.K. Kozlov, E.V. Kozlova and colleagues)].
MALE: The fore wing length is 16 mm. The violet flash on the
wings is more weak expressed than in the typical form (the
butterfly looks reddish), while the dark spots on the fore wing
are more contrasted, especially in the cell. Almost double spots
at the hind margin of the fore wing are well seen. On the hind
wing underside the dark spots of the second row internally of
the orange streak are not round, as in the typical form, but
somewhat elongate, they are not ringed with light rims. The
genitalia scarcely differ from the type."
370. Heodes virgaureae (Linnaeus, 1758).
TYPE LOCALITY: Sweden.
RANGE: The temperate Eurasia northwards to the middle taiga belt,
to the north-east reaches the Verkhoyanskiy mountain range,
eastwards of Upper Priamurye becomes very local, in Primorye is
known from the Ussuriisk town surroundings.
HABITAT: various kind meadows on the lowlands and in the mountains,
locally up to the tree-line. In the southern Far East the butterflies
are usually found on damp meadows on river banks.
FLIGHT PERIOD: prolonged, late June/middle August.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: Rumex (R. thyrsiflorus, R. acetosa, R.
acetosella), reported also Plantago sp. (Migranov, 1991). Eggs: greyish-
green, flattened, with dimples of differen size; laid singly or in small
groups on the foodplant stems or leaves, hibernate. Larva: dark-green
with large yellow areas on back and two interrupted light lines along
either side; spiracles black; head and thoracic legs black. Pupa:
smooth, rounded, brownish with a dark streak on thorax and dark dots on
abdomen.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 13-18 mm. In males wing upperside
shining bright-orange with a narrow dark outer border; in females orange
with a pattern of dark spots; hind wing underside muddy-orange with
black dots and small white brands in both sexes.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: The subspecies alexandrae Fruhstorfer, 1909,
described from the environs of the town Miass, is reported for the
southern Ural and West Siberia, eastwards to the Yenisey; the subspecies
virgaureola Staudinger, 1892 (=mongolica Kurenzov, 1970) is reported for
the East Sayan, Pribaikalye, Zabaikalye, Priamurye, and Primorye; the
butterflies from the taiga regions of Ural and Siberia differ from their
more southern counterparts with a widened black pattern on wing
upperside in females, from Yakutia such butterflies were described as
ssp. lena Kurenzov, 1970.
371. Heodes hippothoe (Linnaeus, 1761).
TYPE LOCALITY: S Sweden.
RANGE: The temperate Eurasia northwards to the polar regions of Ural and
the middle taiga zone in Siberia, the Sakhalin. A local species.
HABITAT: various kind meadows, including alpine ones, bogged open larch
stands, montane meadowy tundras.
FLIGHT PERIOD: June or July, depending on the locality, in highlands -
until middle August.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: Rumex, Polygonum bistorta. Eggs: green,
flat, with rather large round dimples, laid singly on foodplants low
above the ground. Larva: velvety dark-green with a dark stripe along
back and a light line above legs and prolegs along either side, and also
light spots at segment joints; covered with short white hairs; head and
thoracal legs brown. The larva hibernates and pupates in the end of
spring. Pupa: yellow-brown with black dots of different sizes, wing
cases outlined with a dark line; it lies freely on the ground.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 14-17 mm. In males wing upperside
orange-red with a slight violet irridescence, there are a dark band
along outer margin of fore wing and a basal dark area occupying more
than a half of hind wing; in females upperside brown with an orange
suffusion sometimes excluding ground colour (in ssp. stiberi); hind wing
underside greyish in both sexes.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: Butterflies from the southern Ural and West
Siberian Lowland are close to the nominotypical subspecies hippothoe (?
= spadona Krulikovsky, 1909, type locality: Vyatka); the butterflies
from Polar Ural by small size, a lighter colouration of females and a
reduction of the dark border in males approach to the Scandinavian
subspecies stiberi Gerhard, 1853. The subspecies sajana
Kozhantshikov,1923 ranges in the mountains of S Siberia and the
Prilenskoe Plateau; ssp. amurensis Staudinger, 1892 ranges in the
southern Far East.
372. Heodes tityrus (Poda, 1761). (= dorilis Hufnagel, 1766)
TYPE LOCALITY: Austria: Harz.
RANGE: Europe (except for the North), Anterior Asia, S Ural, the
southern W Siberia, the mountains of E Kazakhstan. A local
species.
HABITAT: meadow patches and meadow steppes at pine woods, "kolki" [birch
groves], on mountain slopes and rock outcrops in the montane forest
belt.
FLIGHT PERIOD: in one or two broods, depending on the locality, in
general the imagines can be seen from May to September.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: Rumex; also reported are some Fabaceae:
Astragalus, Sarothamnus scoparius. Eggs: flattened, with concentric
whorls of relatively large dimples, light-green with a large dark spot
on top; they are laid singly, mostly on the underside of the leaf
petioles of the foodplant. Young larva: green with light-grey lengthwise
streaks; mature larva: green with a pinkish lengthwise line aling back
and above legs and slanting dark streaks on either side (sometimes
incospicuous); body covered with short reddish hairs. The larva often
contacs with ants. Pupa: light-greenish or yellowish-brown with a dark
back line and lighter sides; speckled with fine dark dots.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 13-15 mm. In both sexes wing upperside
brown, in females with orange spots at outer margin; hind wing underside
ochre-yellow.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: The butterflies from Ural and
West Siberia are close to ssp. tityrus.
SUBFAMILIA POLYOMMATINAE Swainson, 1827
TRIBUS NIPHANDINI Eliot, 1973.
The tribe includes a single monotypical genus.
GENUS NIPHANDA Moore, 1875.
Type species:Niphanda tessellata Moore, [1875].
373. Niphanda fusca (Bremer et Grey, 1852).
TYPE LOCALITY: Peking.
RANGE: S Pribaikalye (the Temnik River), E Zabaikalye, Priamurye
(downstream to the Gorin river), Primorye, NE China, Korea,
Japan. A local species.
HABITAT: in Primorye: oak woods, bush thickets in river valleys. In SE
Zabaikalye (the rocky left board of the Onon River 7 km upstream of the
village Nizhnii Tsasuchei, observations by O. Kosterin and V. Dubatolov)
numerous butterflies were observed in mixed shrubbery of the Siberian
Apricot (Armeniaca Sibirica) and elms (Ulmus pumila, Ulmus macrocarpa).
They feed mostly on the flowers of Lilium pumilum and Clematis
hexapetala.
FLIGHT PERIOD: in Primorye: middle June/late August, in
one or two broods.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: In Primorye the eggs are laid singly or in small
batches on the bark of Quercus mongolicus, in the places where aphids
and ants are present. In Japan oviposition was also observed on the bark
of the pine-trees, honeysuckle, or the grass Miscanthus, in the same
conditions. A young larva keeps to the foodplant leaves and feeds on
aphid secretion. After hibernation in an ant-hill at the third instar it
lives there being fed by ants; it is greyish-yellowish-rose. Pupa: dark-
brown dorsally and whitish ventrally, lies in an ant-hill.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 15-22 mm. In both
sexes wing upperside brown, in males with a violet
iridescence; wing underside light-beije with light-rimmed
brownish spots of different sizes, at fore wing base there is
a very large spot irregular in shape.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: The butterflies from the southern Priamurye and
Zabaikalye differ from the typical ones by the presence of whitish spots
and areas on hind wing underside making the pattern more mottled.
TRIBUS POLYOMMATINI Swainson, 1827.
GENUS LAMPIDES Hubner, 1819.
Type species: Papilio boeticus Linnaeus, 1767.
A monotypical genus.
374. Lampides boeticus (Linnaeus, 1767).
TYPE LOCALITY: Algeria.
RANGE: S Europe, Africa, the subtropical and tropical Asia, Australia,
the Hawaii. A migrating species: the migrant individuals were recorded
in England, Germany, the southern Moscow Region, the Sibay district of
Bashkiria, at Novosibirsk, and on the De Vries Peninsla in Primorye.
FLIGHT PERIOD: in Central Asia: middle June/late October, in two to
four broods.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: various Fabaceae (Pisum, Vicia, Colutea,
Lupinus), and also Lamiaceae (Mentha) and a number of other plants.
According to the observations by M. M. and M. A. Omel'ko (1975) in S
Primorye, the eggs are laid singly at the base of the flower buds of
Vicia amoena. Larvae hatch on sixth day and borrow into flower buds,
where after seven days underwent the first moult. Nine days later they
underwent the seond mount on the flower pedicles, in early September
they start to look for shelters for hibernation. Mature larva: 15 mm
long, varies from brownish-sand-coloured to light-green, with a brown
brown streak along back and light wavy streaks on sides; rear
end of the body bears knobs and spinules. Before pupation the larva
becomes purple and either makes a frail silken cocoon in shady places on
the ground surface or pupates in a rolled leaf or empty legume stem.
Pupa: brownish with small dark spots and a narrow streak along back.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 15-17 mm. Wing upperside blue in males
and brown with a brilliant violet basal suffusion in females; hind wing
underside covered by alternating brown and white wavy streaks; at hind
wing anal angle there is a thread-like tail.
GENUS EVERES Huebner, [1819].
Type species: Papilio amyntas [Denis et Shiffermuller], 1775.
F.w.l.: 95 mm. Wing upperside blue in males, brown in females. Hind
wing bears a small thread-like tail or a sharp projection at anal angle.
The genus includes seven species ranging in Eurasia, N America, and
Australia.
375. Everes argiades (Pallas, 1771).
TYPE LOCALITY: the Volga basin: the city Samara.
RANGE: The temperate Eurasia northwards to the middle taiga belt, north-
east to the Oimyakonskoe upland adn the southern magadan Region; the
Sakhalin, South Kuriles, Japan.
HABITAT: various meadows, fields, in the mountains locally rises up to
the tree line.
FLIGHT PERIOD: mostly in two broods, in middle May/middle June and
July/September.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: Lespedeza, Medicago, Trifolium, Lotus
corniculatus, and other Fabaceae. Eggs: small, greenish-white, green, or
blueish, with fine reticulate ornament; laid singly on the buds,
flowers, or young leaves of the foodplants. Larva: green, rarely
reddish, with brown spots and dark lengthwise lines on back; covered
with short light setae sprouting from whitish dots; head and
spiracles black. It feeds on buds, flowers, and leaves, and is
visited by ants; cases of cannibalism are reported. Pupa of the
spring brood: brownish with black speckles and a dark line on back;
that of the summer brood: green with whitish veins on wing cases,
most frequently it is suspended on the foodplant inflorescences. The
pupae of both broods are covered with long sparse hairs. Hibernation
occurs at the stage of the last instar larva or pupa among the leaf
fall.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 9-13 mm in spring brood, 12-15 mm in
summer brood. On fore wing underside dots of postdiscal row are
transversally elongate, on hind wing underside at anal angle there are
two orange spots; tail about 1.5 mm long.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: Ural and Siberia is inhabited by ssp. argiades;
the southern Far East is inhabited by the subspecies seitzi Wnukowsky,
1928.
376. Everes alcetas (Hoffmannsegg, 1804).
TYPE LOCALITY: Austria.
RANGE: S Europe, North, Middle, and South Ural, the south of West
and Middle Siberia, Zabaikalye (the Chita surroundings). The eastern
limit of the species needs clarification. A local species.
HABITAT: various meadows; in Altai the maximal quantities are observable
in the lower part of the mountain forest belt, where numerous
congregations of males on a wet ground are frequent.
FLIGHT PERIOD: June/middle July, depending on the locality.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: Trifolium, Vicia, Coronilla varia, other
herbaceous Fabaceae.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 11-14 mm. On fore wing underside dots
of postdiscal row round and only one row of spots is well expressed at
outer margin; on hind wing underside at anal angle orange spots either
absent or there is only one thin crescent-shaped orange mark; tail very
short being rather a sharp projection.
GENUS TONGEIA Tutt, 1908.
Type species: Lycaena fisheri Eversmann, 1843.
A monotypical genus.
377. Tongeia fischeri (Eversmann, 1843).
TYPE LOCALITY: S Ural.
RANGE: SE Europe, S Ural, N and E Kazakhstan, the southern W Siberia,
the mountains of S Siberia, Primorye, the southern Sakhalin, Mongolia,
NE and Central China, Korea, Japan. A local species.
HABITAT: Rocky steppes, rock outcrops on southern slopes, pebble river
banks, open pine forests (SE Zabaikalye, observations by O. Kosterin and
V. Dubatolov), where Orostachys spp. grows.
FLIGHT PERIOD: in two broods in middle May/middle June and August.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: Crassulaceae: Sedum, Orostachys. Eggs:
white; laid by 1-2 on the foodplant leaves or inflorescences. The larva
hibernates inside or near the foodplant. A young larva at first lives
and feeds inside a leaf, later it keep to the inflorescences. Mature
larva: greenish-white, sometimes with a reddish tint, there is a narrow
interrupted red line along the back and a wider reddish stripe on either
side. Pupa: brownish or greenish, with sparse hairs; it is found on the
foodplant, trees, or lichens. Larva found by O. Berezina and O. Kosterin
in SE Transbaicalia: green, with diffuse dark-red lateral and medial
stripes and traces of slanting streaks of the same colour between them;
head black. It was found young in a rosette of Orostachys malacophylla
taken from nature more than a fortnight ago. It eated leaves from inside
and pupated having eaten all the rosette. Pupa: greyish-green, covered
with chaotically specked, often fused to each other dark-olive dots.
Becoming denser, they form a lengthwise back line, lateral lines along
hind margins of abdominal segments and spots on sides of these segments.
On wing cases the dots are very sparse and look much lighter. There are
rather long white setae on head, abdomen and back side of thorax, on
wing cases they are absent.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 9-13 mm. Wing upperside brown
in both sexes; on fore wing underside spots of postdiscal
row round and rather large, and two rows of spots are well expressed
at outer margin; on hind wing underside there are two or three
orange semicircular spots at anal angle; the tail is about 1 mm
long.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: poorly studied. The subspecies sachalinensis
Matsumura, 1925 ranges in the Sakhalin.
ETYMOLOGY: Gothelf Fischer von Waldheim (1771-1853) - a
well-known naturalist, entomologist and paleontologist, the
foundator of the Moscow Society of Nature Explorers.
GENUS CUPIDO Schrank, 1801.
T.s.: Papilio minimus Fuessly, 1775.
F.w.l.: 9-15 mm. The wing upperside brown with a violet suffusion or
entirely violet; underside light-grey, with only one postdiscal row of
small black dots.
A Palearctic genus including not less than seven species.
378. Cupido minimus (Fuessly, 1775).
TYPE LOCALITY:: Switzerland.
RANGE: The temperate Eurasia locally as northwards as the polar
regions (Polar Ural), the Sakhalin.
HABITAT: meadows of various kinds, in the mountains penetrates into
highlands.
FLIGHT PERIOD: in the southern forest zone: in one brood in June; in the
forest-steppe zone: in two broods in May/June and August/September.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Europe. Foodplants: Astragalus,
Coronilla, Medicago, Melilotus, and other Fabaceae, reported is also
Phlomis (Lamiacceae). Eggs: adpressed, light-green, with a dense
reticulate ornament; laid on the foodplant leaves. Larva: green,
sometimes yellow or ochre-coloured, usually with a dark back line along
back, beside of which there are two rows of short slanting streaks of
reddish or yellow colour, and an interrupted dark line, bordered with
white beneath, on either side; head and thoracic legs dark-brown. Pupa:
yellowish-green, dorsally with four rows of dark dots; it hibernates.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 9-15 mm. Wing upperside brown, in
males suffused with glittering violet scales; on fore wing underside
the row of postdiscal dots straight in its lower half. Similar species:
C. osiris.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: Butterflies from, Ural and Siberia are close to
ssp. minimus. Specimens from S Primorye belong to ssp. chappensis
Matsumura, 1927, described from Korea, differing by a larger size
(f.w.l. 12-15 mm) and a weakly expressed suffusion of gliittering scales
on wing upperside in males.
379. Cupido osiris (Meigen, 1829).
TYPE LOCALITY: not specified [Europe].
RANGE: S Europe, Anterior and Central Asia, the southern Ural and
Siberia eastwards to Zabaikalye and Zhigansk in Yakutia,
Mongolia.
HABITAT: meadows of various types, meadow-steppe patches. Relatively a
rare species.
FLIGHT PERIOD: May/August, most probably in two broods.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: Onobrychis, Lathyrus, and other Fabaceae.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 12-16 mm. Wing upperside violet
in males and brown in females; on fore wing underside the row of
postdiscal dots considerably bent in its lower half. Similar species:
C. minimus.
GENUS CELASTRINA Tutt, 1906.
T.s..: Papilio argiolus Linnaeus, 1758.
F.w.l.: 11-17 mm. Wings blue above, in females - with a wide border
at the outer and, partly, fore margins; wing underside light-blueish
with a pattern of small separate dots and strokes. In male genitalia
valva ends with a large sharp tooth.
A Holarctic genus including 5-6 very similar taxa, the range of which
needs in clarification.
380. Celastrina argiolus (Linnaeus, 1758).
TYPE LOCALITY: England.
RANGE: The non-tropical Eurasia (except for the Pacific coastal
regions) northwards to the forest-tundra zone, nowth-westwards to
Central Yakutia (the settlement Khandyga). The species used to be
confused with C. ladon, so its eastern limits need clarification.
HABITAT: forest edges, cuttings, glades, open woods, bush thickets, bogs,
birch-pine woods, settlements, fields.
FLIGHT PERIOD: for three-four weeks just after the leaves have appeared
on trees, in the temperate zone scarse butterflies of the second brood
used to be observed in warm years. The imagines often keep to the
flowering willows.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: Rhamnus, Frangula, arboreal and
fruticose Rosaceae (Prunus, Rubus, Sorbus, Spiraea), Ribes nigrum,
various Fabaceae (Caragana frutex, Chamaecystis, Lupinus), Vaccinium.
Eggs: blueish, later becoming white; laid singly on the foodplant flower
buds. Several forms of larva can be found: green, pinkish, reddish,
brown, or violet. They usually have an obscure ornament consisting of a
diffuse dark line along back and light interrupted lines on sides;
sometimes the larva is mottled due to more expressed lines and appearing
of a chain of white triangles and red spots along back. 10th segment
bears an ant-attracting gland. Pupa: ochre-coloured, brown, or almost
black, with lighter wing cases and darker markings on sides of abdominal
segments; belted most frequently on a leaf underside; hibernates.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 12-17 mm. On male hind wing upperside
a dark border and spots between veins are not expressed; on female fore
wing upperside the dark border occupies about a half of wing area, in
summer brood it is even more wide. From other species of the genus this
one differs primarily in the male genitalia structure (Table.....)
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: Ural and the most part of Siberia are inhabited
by the nominotypical subspecies; Yakutia and the northern Buryatiya - by
ssp. bieneri Forster, 1941.
381. Celastrina ladon (Cramer, 1780). (= argiolus auct.).
TYPE LOCALITY: N America.
RANGE: The Magadan Region, the mountains of Bureya, the Middle and Lower
Priamurye, Primorye, the Sakhalin, South Kuriles, NE China, Korea,
Japan, North and Central America. In Eurasia the western limit of the
species is not well known.
HABITAT: forest meadows, wood edges, river banks, bush thickets, in the
mountains occurs up to the highlands. The butterflies feed on the
flowers of Armeniaca mandshurica, Pyrus ussuriensis, Malus mandshurica.
Usually a male occupies a pearch and defends it by chasing out other
males, often rising high above tree crowns. Females keep to lower
levels, rising to tree crowns for egg laying only (M.M. and M.A.
Omel'ko, 1987).
FLIGHT PERIOD: in two broods, in late April/middle June and
July/September.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Primorye (M.M. and M.A. Omelko, 1987).
Foodplants: various Fabaceae (Lespedeza bicolor, Melilotus, Vicia
amoena), and also Plectranthus exisus (Lamiaceae) and Aralia mandshurica
(Araliaceae). Eggs: whitish, 0.6 mm in diameter, flattened, ribbed,
apically somewhat concave, deeply dimpled; laid singly or by 2-3 on the
foodplant inflorescences. The larva hatches on 5-7th day, it feeds on
flowers and young ovaries, undergoes three moults. The first instar
larva: yellowish, hairs white. In later instars the colouration of
larvae much vary even on the same plant. Thus, the second brood larvae
from Lespedeza bicolor and Vicia amoena were blueish-green, pinkish-
violet, dark-violet, or brown, usually mottled due to contrasted
lengthwise lines (of a violet, brown, olive-grey or green colour).
Mature larva 11-12 mm long. The second brood larvae pupate on grass
stems or bush or tree branches; those of the first brood - in litter on
the ground. Pupa: 5.2-8.2 mm long, beije-coloured, with small brown
speckles on abdominal segments and, on tergites 3-6, with large brown
spots, which on tergites 5 and 6 often fused to each other, set with
very short and sparse light chetae.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 14-17 mm. From the most similar
species C. argiolus this one differs by the presence of a conspicuous
projection under the apical tooth of the valva in the male genitalia
(Table.....)
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: In East Asia there ranges the subspecies
ladonides d'Orza, 1867, which is reported also for the South Kuriles;
the "race" sachalinensis Esaki, 1922 is described from the Sakhalin.
382. Celastrina fedoseevi Korshunov et Ivonin, 1990.
TYPE LOCALITY: the Amur Region: the surroundings of the town Zeya.
RANGE, HABITAT, FLIGHT PERIOD: The species is known by two males of the
type series collected on a wood cutting on 22-23th June 1985. On 17th
June 1995 these butterflies were found out by V. Dubatolov in a pine
forest in the Chita surroundings.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 14-17 mm. From the most similar
species C. argiolus this one differs by the presence of dark spots at
the outer margin of the hind wing upperside, and also by the male
genitalia structure (Table.....)
ETYMOLOGY: Grigoriy Anisimovich Fedoseev (1899-1965) - a writer and a
geodesist, an explorer of the mountains of Siberia.
383. Celastrina heringi Kardakov, 1928 (= phellodendroni Omelko, 1987)
TYPE LOCALITY: S Primorye: The Ussuri River.
RANGE: An endemic species of Primorye (The Sinii mountain range, the
Ussuriiskii nature reserve, the surroundings of the village Brovnichi
and town Partizansk; the De Vries and Murav'ev-Amurskiy Peninsulas).
HABITAT: valley broad-leaved forests. According to the observations by M.M.
and M.A. Omel'ko (1987), in the hirst half of the day the butterflies
the butterflies keep to the low levels, mostly visiting flowers, in the
afternoon they rise to tree crowns and demonstrate sexual behaviour, the
maximum activity was observed at 16-18 hr.
FLIGHT PERIOD: late April/early June.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: The life history was studied by M.M.Omel'ko.
Foodplant: Phellodendron amurensis. Eggs: small (about 0.6 mm in
diameter), globular, dimpled, greenish, later become white; laid by 1-2
on a branch at bud bqases, young leaves or their petioles, on fruiting
trees usually on inflorescences. The larvae hatch on the fourth day. The
first instar larva: flattened, light blueish-green with two rows of long
light hairs along back, brownish-black head, and legs are light. It eats
mostly young leaves making in them irregular holes of different size,
sometimes eats anthers in the flowers. Mature larva: 12-14 mm long,
green with a darker dorsal line, bordered with yellowish streaks; set
with very short light hairs and bearing two rows of sparse long chetae.
Before pupation its colour changes to blueish-green. Pupation takes
place on the ground in litter from middle June to middle July. Pupa:
7.2-9 mm long, dark-brown, evenly or with a lighter (brown or brownish-
yellow) abdomen, which is either dark speckled or with a darkening on
segments 3-9. Hibernation on the stage of pupa or, rarely, mature larva.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 14-16 mm. This species differs from
other our ones by a bright violet tint and a distinct dark border on the
male hind wing upperside, and also by the male genitalia structure
(Table....).
GENUS MASLOWSKIA Kurenzov, 1974.
T.s.: Celastrina filipjevi Riley, 1934.
F.w.l.: 12-17 mm. Wing upperside blue, in females strongly darkened
so, that blue colour retains only in central part of fore wing. Wing
underside light-blueish with a pattern of separate black dots. In male
genitalia valva has a blunt apex since apical tooth is bent upwards.
This genus, close to the previous one, embraces several species from E
and SE Asia.
384. Maslowskia filipjevi (Riley, 1934).
TYPE LOCALITY: Primorye.
RANGE: An endemic species of S. Primorye, known from the rivers Maykhe
and Suputinka, the village Gornotaezhnoe, the Ussuriyskiy Nature Reserve
(the dendrarium), Vladivostok (the Botanical Garden).
HABITAT: valley broad-leaved forests with Princepia chinensis in the
understorey; places where P. chinensis is planted in dendrariums,
botanical gardens, parks, settlements.
FLIGHT PERIOD: late June/late August.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: The life history was studied by M.M. and M.A.
Omel'ko (1984). Foodplant: Princepia chinensis (Rosaceae). Eggs: small
(about 0.7 mm in diameter), ribbed, white; laid by one or two on the
foodpants twigs and leaves, or under the come off bark in batches up to
10 ones. The eggs laid by the second brood hibernate. The larvae hatch
from them in about 20s of April and moult thrice until early June.
Mature larva: up to 15 mm long; green, back being light-greenish-blue
with three lengthwise yellow-green lines, spiracular line greyish-
yellow; body set throughout with light hairs; head dark; thoracic legs
are light with browh clows. The larva pupates in May/early June, usually
under the foodplant leaves. Pupa: up to 10 mm long, green with a lighter
abdominal tergites (except for the first one), with a line of the basic
colour going along back of abdomen; covered with sparce light hairs;
spiracles dark. Pupal stage lasts for 9-19 days.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 14-16 mm. In males the dark border on
wing upprside narrow (about 1 mm in width); wing underside silvery-white
with well expressed postdiscal black dots. In male genitalia valva has
small teeth at apex of its major projection (Table....). Similar
species: M. oreas.
ETYMOLOGY: Nikolay Nikoilaevich Filipyev (1882-1943), a
lepidopterologist of the Zoological Institute (Leningrad), actively
worked in 20s-30s years of this century.
385. Maslowskia oreas (Leech, 1893).
TYPE LOCALITY: "West China".
RANGE: S Primorye (the Ussuriyskiy nature reserve), North-East, Central
and South China. In Primorye the species was collected together with M.
filipjevi at the bushes of Princepia chinensis in a valley broad-leaved
forest.
FLIGHT PERIOD: late June/middle July.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: The life history was studied by M.M. and M.A.
Omel'ko (1984). Foodplant: Princepia chinensis. Eggs: relatively large
(0.9 mm in diameter), ribbed, white; laid by one-three on thin twigs of
large bushes of the foodpants, usually at bifurcation points or at the
spine bases. The larva moults thrise sicnce 20s of April (the time when
leaves come out) until early June. The last instar larva eats young
leaves on the sprout tops, leaving only the central veins. It is whitish
with a narrow brown back line usually accompanied with a more narrow and
dark line on either side; body covered with light hairs which are longer
on the sides to form a sort of fringe. Pupa: 9-10 mm long, head and wing
cases grey with dark-brown speckles; abdomen cream-white; body covered
with sparse light hairs; it is found in June in dry leaf fall at the
foodplants.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 15-17 mm. In males the dark border on
wing upprside about 2 mm wide; wing underside greyish with small
postdiscal black dots, usually absent on fore wing. In male genitalia
valva has small teeth at bend of major projection (Table....).
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: The butterflies from Primorye are close to the
Korean subspecies mirificus Sugitani, 1936. Probably the taxon
ussuriensis Forster, 1941, described from the Ussuri River delta as a
subspecies of a Himalayan species Cellastrina gigas Hemming, 1941,
belongs in fact to M. oreas.
GENUS SCOLITANTIDES Huebner, [1819].
T.s.. Papilio battus [Denis at Schiffermuller], 1775.
A monotypical species.
386. Scolitantides orion (Pallas, 1771).
TYPE LOCALITY: Povolzhye.
RANGE: The south of forest and forest-steppe zones of Eurasia, the
adjacent mountain countries southwards to the Tien-Shan and, in E
Siberia, northwards to the subpolar regions; Kamchatka. A local species.
HABITAT: detrituous and rocky southern slopes up to the
highlands; steppefied meadows, dry open woods.
FLIGHT PERIOD: usually in two broods, in middle May/ middle June and
July/ August, respectively.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: Sedum, probably Orostachys. Eggs: light,
globular, adpressed, with a dimple apically; laid singly on the
foodplant flowers. The young larva eats the buds and young leaves,
gnowing their edges, an older larva cuts the leaves off at the base and
then eats them on the ground. Mature larve: greyish-brown or greenish,
with a wide dark stripe or a row of rectangular spots along back,
sometimes two rows of light slanting streaks are present on either side;
head black. The larva is actively visited by ants, it pupates among
withered leaves on the ground or in ant nests. Pupa: pale-brownish with
yellowish-green wing cases; hibernates.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 10-16 mm. Wing upperside: brown, in
specimens of spring brood (the spring form ornata Staudinger, 1892) with
a well developed suffusion or a pattern made by glittering blue scales.
On hind wing underside there is a contiguous orange band at outer
margin.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: The butterflies from the surroundings of the
village Cheposh in Altai are described as johanseni Wnukowsky, 1934.
GENUS PSEUDOPHILOTES Beuret, 1958.
T.s.: Papilio baton Bergstresser, 1779.
F.w.l.: 10-12 mm. The wing upperside is blue in males and dark-brown,
with a blue suffusion at the base, in females. On the hind wing
underside there is a marginal row of separate orange spots.
A Palearctic genus with six species. The Asian part of Russia is
inhabited by two very close species differing by the structure of the
male genitalia. Another species: Pseudophilotes panope (Eversmann, 1851)
has been described from the semidesert areas along the lower flow of the
Ural river (Indersk). It is still known only by the type material
preserved in the Zoological Institute, the special searches for this
species in the Ural River basin were not succiessful so far. In
literature this species used to be erroneously considered as belonging
to the South Ural fauna.
387. Pseudophilotes vicrama (Moore, 1865).
TYPE LOCALITY: NW India: Kamovur.
RANGE: Central and SE Europe, Anterior and Central Asia, Kazakhstan, S
Ural, the southern W Siberia, Altai. A local species.
HABITAT: sandy terraces and pebble river banks, dry detrituous south-
exposed slopes, in Alai - up to 2800 m altitude.
FLIGHT PERIOD: the species can be rarely met with from late May to late
July.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Europe. Foodplants: Thymus serpillum,
?Mentha was also reported. Larva: green with a reddish back line and
dots of the same colour forming a row on either side; spiracles white.
The last instar larvae are connected with the ants Myrmica sabuleti; in
captivity they eat other caterpillars. Pupa: clay-yellow with a greenish
bloom.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 10-12 mm. In male genitalia valva
bears one tooth apically (Table...).
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: The Russia is inhabited by the subspecies
schiffermulleri Hemming, 1929.
366. Pseudophilotes jacuticus Korshunov et Viidalepp, 1980.
TYPE LOCALITY: the surroundings of Yakutsk.
RANGE: The Prilenskoe Plateau, the Stanovoe Nagorye Upland, N
Pribaikalye (the surroundings of the town Severobaikal'sk and city
Irkutsk).
HABITAT: steppefied slopes at moderate altitudes and dry meadows on
river terraces, besides, on the Baikal'skiy mountain range the species
was found on screes at 1500 m above sea level. A locally abundant
species.
FLIGHT PERIOD: June/middle July, depending on the locality.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 10-12 mm. In male genitalia valva
bears two teeth apically (Table...).
GENUS RUBRAPTERUS Korshunov, 1990.
T.s.: Lycaena bavius Eversmann, 1832.
A monotypical genus.
389. Rubrapterus bavius (Eversmann, 1832).
TYPE LOCALITY: the Orenburg Province.
RANGE: S Europe, N Africa. The species has been describedby Eversmann
(1832) from the recent territory of Bashkiria, but further materials
from there are missing.
HABITAT: in European Russia: steppefied meadows.
FLIGHT PERIOD: May/first half of June.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: Salvia (Lamiaceae). The larvae live
inside flowers.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 12-14 mm. Wing upperside blue with a
dark outer border in males and brown in females, as different from
Pseudophylotes vicrama, in both sexes with a row of orange-red spots at
hind wing outer margin; fringe is chequered.
GENUS GLAUCOPSYCHE Scudder, 1872.
T.s.: Polyommatus lygdamus Doubledy, 1842.
F.w.l.: 13-19 mm. Wing upperside blue in males and brown in
females. On fore wing underside there is only a postdiscal row of
round black spots and a black stroke on transversal vein, hind
wing underside basally suffused with glittering greenish-blue scales.
A Holarctic genus with eight species.
390. Glaucopsyche lygdamus (Doubleday, 1842).
TYPE LOCALITY: West USA: Georgia.
RANGE: The mountains of the right tributaries of Kolyma River upper flow
(the rivers Malyi Anyui, Verkhniy Seimchan, Sugoy, and Omolon),
Kamchatka, N. America. A local species. Habitst: montane tundras and
meadow patches at the upper limit of larch forest. The imagines were
observed in June and July.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in N America. Foodplants: Fabaceae:
Oxytropis, Astragalus, Lathyrus, Vicia, etc. Eggs: light blueish-green,
with white grovies; laid singly or young foodplant leaves. Larva: from
light-yellow to purple or brown, with a dark dorsal streak, light
slanting lateral strokes, and a yellowish spiracular line. It eats
flowers, fruits, young leaves, is visited by ants. Pupa: brown with a
dark dorsal line, light-brownb spots and black speckles, or entirely
dark; it hibernates.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 13-15 mm. In males wing upperside
silvery-blue with a dark border at outer margin less than 1 mm in width;
in both sexes postdiscal row of small black spots on fore wing underside
evenly bent at fore margin.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: In the Kolyma River basin and in Kamchatka the
subspecies kurnakovi Kurenzov, 1970 is distributed, which differs from
ssp. couperi Grote, known from Alaska, by a darker ground colour of
wing upperside in males.
391. Glaucopsyche alexis (Poda, 1761). (= cyllarus Rottemburg, 1775).
TYPE LOCALITY: Austria: Harz.
RANGE: Europe (except for the North), N Africa, Anterior and Central
Asia, Kazakhstan, the southern Ural and Siberia eastwards to Zabaikalye
and the Bol'shoy Khingan, Mongolia, N China.
HABITAT: dry meadows, steppefied moutain slopes, wasting lands, the
imagines are often observed on wet ground.
FLIGHT PERIOD: late May/late July, depending on the locality.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Europe (Buckler, 1887; other authors).
Foodplants: various Fabaceae: Medicago, Melilotus, Astragalus,
Onobrychis, Chamaecytisus, Genista, Trifolium. Eggs: whitish, flattened,
with tiny dimples, laid singly on various parts of a foodplant. Larva:
green, brown, or grey-red, with a reddish streak along back and close to
each other slanting streaks on sides, which often are hardly noticeable;
ventral prolegs greyish-brown; thoracic legs and head black; body
densely covered with thin hairs. The larva hibernates. Pupa: brownish-
grey.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 13-17 mm. Wing underside light-grey,
postdiscal row of spots on fore wing sharply bent at the third or fourth
spot, glittery suffusion occupies basal half of hind wing.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: Ural and Siberia are inhabited by ssp. alexis.
392. Glaucopsyche lycormas (Butler, 1868)
T.l.: N Japan.
RANGE: The southern half of the forest and forest-steppe zone from the
Irtysh River in the Omsk Region to the Far East, the Sakhalin, S
Kuriles, Mongolia, NE China, Korea, Japan.
HABITAT: meadow patches on mountain slopes, river terraces, rocks, edges
of coniferous forests, pine woods and birch groves.
FLIGHT PERIOD: as a rule in two broods, in May/late June and
July/August.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Japan (Fukuda et al., 1984). Foodplants:
Fabaceae. Eggs: white; laid singly on the buds, inflorescences, and
twigs of the foodplant. Larva: light-green, the last body segment and,
partly, thoracic segments reddish; it eats the generative organs of a
plant and is visited by ants. Pupa: brown, found under the leaf fall at
the foodplant.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 13-20 mm. In males wing upperside has
a relatively wide, 1.5-3 mm, dark border at outer margin; on fore wing
underside the postdiscal row of spots is slightly and evenly bent, on
hind wing the glittery suffusion confined to basal area.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: Subspecies: in Siberia and the mountains of
Bureya ssp. lederi O. Bang-Haas, 1907 widely ranges, In Primorye and
the Sakhalin ssp. scylla Oberthur, 1880 presents, differing from ssp.
lederi with a larger size, violet-blue wing upperside, a wider dark
border in males. The butterflies from the Kunashir, known as ssp.
tomariana Matsumura, 1928, are characterized by a blue upperside
colouration and a narrow dark border in males and a light-blue with a
dark black border in females.
GENUS BAJLUANA Korshunov, 1990.
T.s.: Lycaena argali Elwes, 1899.
A monotypical genus close to the previous one, close to the previous
one.
393. Bajluana argali (Elwes, 1899).
TYPE LOCALITY: SE [Russian] Altai: the Chuya basin: the Kuyaktanar
River.
RANGE: the Altai Mts., West (Kurchumskii mountain range), Central (the
settlement Inya) and SE (the mountains in the Chuya River upper basin);
the Saur and Monrak Mountains.
HABITAT, IMAGINAL BEHAVIOUR: Steppefied detrituous south-exposed slopes
800-2500 m above sea level. According to observations by V. Ivonin in SE
ALtai (the Chikhacheva mountain range), the butterflies keep to thorn
cusions of Oxytropis tragacanthoides, most probably the larval
foodplant, and feed on its flowers. Males also feed on the flowers of
Primula, Potentilla, Myosotis and others on openings in neighbouring
larch forests. In sunny weather butterflies active from 10-11 to 18 hr.
Copulations were observed on stones at midday. On cloudy weather the
butterflies hide in shelters between stones.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 13-15. Wing upperside glittering
silvery-blue in both sexes, in males with a black outer border fused
with black submarginal spots to form a waving band about 1.5 mm wide; in
females upperside unevenly suffused with dark scales. Wing underside
dark-greyish-brown in both sexes, on fore wing postdiscal row of large
spots bent at the fourth spot from top.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: Ssp.. argali is known from Central and SE
Russian Altai; the Kazakhstan territory is inhabited by the subspecies
arkhar Lukhtanov, 1990.
GENUS MACULINEA van Ecke, 1915.
T.s..: Papilio alcon [Denis et Schiffermuller], 1775.
Relatively large butterflies, f.w.l. usually being 16-21 mm, rarely
12-23 mm. Wing upperside blue or brown, with dark spots; pattern of
wing underside consists of 1-3 rows of black spots, of which postdiscal
one especially conspicuos; red or orange spots absent.
The larvae are known for their parasitism on certain ant species of
the genus Myrmica. They usually live on plant infloresceces until the
fourth instar, later they descend to the ground and wait for ants. When
an ant touches a larva with its antennae, the larva exudes a secretion
from a special glands situated on the abdominal segments. The ant takes
the larva with its mandibulae and carries into the nest, where the larva
is fed by ants of eats their larvae, to this moment it acquires a
superficial resemblance in colouration with the latters. The larvae can
live in the nests of certain species only and die if carried to those of
others.
A Palearctic genus including not less than eight species.
394. Maculinea nausithous (Bergstrasser, 1779). (= arcas Rottemburg,
1775).
TYPE LOCALITY: Germany: Hanau-Munzenberg.
RANGE: The south of the forest and forest-steppe zone, including
piedmonts, from W Europe to Middle Siberia. A local species.
HABITAT: herbaceous meadows in river valleys, in forests, pine woods,
birch groves. The imagines visit almost exclusively the infrorescences
of Sanguisorba officinalis.
FLIGHT PERIOD: late June/late July.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Central Europe. Foodplants: Sanguisorba
officinalis. Eggs: greenish-white. At early instars the larva lives
inside an inflorescence. The first instar larva: white with brownish
thoracic legs and head, the latter bears setrrate bristles on occiput.
At later insatrs the larva becomes purple with a honey-brown head and
bears warts set with yellowish hairs. Body of the third instar larva
strongly curved, each wart bearing one light bristle, bristles
being longer on those at segment joints; spiracles rimmed with double
dark rings. At the fourth and fifth instars it is reddish and is
connected with the ants species Myrmica rubra. The emergence of
butterflies conicides with the beginning of the Sanguisorba flowering.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 15-19 mm. Wing upperside brown with a
violet bloom; underside brown with a postdiscal row of black dots only.
395. Maculinea arionides (Staudinger, 1887)
T.l.: Primorye: Vladivistok.
RANGE: Middle Priamurye (from the Amur-Zeya Plateau to the Gorin River),
Primorye, E China, Korea, Japan.
HABITAT: forb meadows in montane mixed forests up to the altitude of
1300 m. The imagines actively visit the flowers of Sorbaria sorbifolia.
FLIGHT PERIOD: July/August.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Japan (Fukuda et al., 1984). Foodplants:
Plectanthus excisus, probably also P. glaucocaliyx and P. serra
(Lamiaceae). Eggs: greenish, later become lighter; laid singly on the
foodplant. A young larva reddish, it feeds on flowers, later becomes
pinkish-yellowish-white and lives in an anthill. Pupa: light-yellow,
later becomes brown; in an anthill.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 20-25 mm. Wing upperside glittering-
blue with a dark outer border and a row of postdiscidal spots; underside
light-blue, with postdiscal spots on the fore wing being much larger
than others and stretched along veins.
396. Maculinea alcon (Denis et Schiffermuller, 1775).
TYPE LOCALITY: Vienna.
RANGE: The temperate Europe, the south of Ural and Siberia, Mongola. In
its eastern range the species is local and rare.
HABITAT: various meadows in river valleys, at wood edges, birch groves,
on mountain slopes.
FLIGHT PERIOD: middle June/late July.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: Gentiana (G. pneumonanthe and others),
reported also Lotus corniculatus, Melilotus. Eggs: greenish or whitish;
laid in the foodplant flowers. Larva: grey, later becomes reddish-brown;
at last instar it is light yellowish-green with a dark head and dorlsa
line; covered with sparse hairs. Before pupation it acquires a brown
colouration. In Europe the larva is connected with the ant species
Myrmica ruginodis.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 18-21 mm. Wing upperside in males
violet-blue with rather a narrow (up to 2 mm wide) dark outer border,
without dark spots; in females upperside brown. On fore wing underside
postdiscal row of spots considerably bent at the second and third spots.
In male genitalia valva tapering to apex (Table....). Similar species:
M. telejus and M. arion.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: Siberia is inhabited by the subspecies jeniseiensis
Sheljuzhko, 1928; Priamurye and Primorye - by ssp. kondakovi
Kurenzov, 1970.
397. Maculinea telejus (Bergstrasser, 1779)
(= euphemus Hubner, 1800).
TYPE LOCALITY: Germany: Hanau-Munzenberg.
RANGE: The temperate Eurasia, northwards locally to the middle
taiga belt, the Sakhalin, the Kuriles, Japan. A local species.
HABITAT: forest herbaceous meadows, mostly in valleys, steppefied
meadows of mountain slopes and river terraces, open larch woods.
FLIGHT PERIOD: middle June/middle July in Ural and the
majority of Siberian territory, and middle July/late August in
the Far East, Sakhalin, and S Kuriles.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Europe. Foodplants: Sanguisorba
officinalis. Eggs: blueish-green, later become white; laid on the
foodplant inflrescences. Young larva: purple-brown with a black head and
a black gland on the first tergit; on back there is sparse warts bearing
a single black hair each; spracles black-rimmed, those at body end
protruding as short tubes. A young larva lives inside an inflorescence
and feed the flower buds, later it feeds on seeds and hibernate on the
ground, usually in a dead inflorescence. After hibernation it keeps to
the ground and contacts with ants, in Europe - Myrmica scabrinodis.
Pupa: pale-brown, lies under ground clots or gravel, in the vicinity of
the anthill.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 13-22 mm. Wing upperside blue with a
wide (2-3 mm) dark ourter border and a row of postdiscal spots in males;
strongly darkened in females; underside greyish in both sexes;
postdiscal row on fore wing usually slightly curved, its spots not
greater than their counterparts on hind wing; there is a row of
submarginal spots. In male genitalia valva not tapering to the apex,
apical tooth widened basally (Table....). Similar species: M. alcon,
M.arion.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: The majority of Siberian territory is inhabited
by the subspecies obscurata Staudinger, 1892, differing by colouration
of wing upperside, dark violet-blue in males and evenly dark-brown in
females. From the steppes of Minusinsk its bright aberration splendens
Kozhantshikov,1924 is known. Priamurye and Primorye are inhabited by
ssp. euphemia Staudinger, 1887 (= insignis Sheljuzhko, 1928),
characterized by a great variation of colouration and differing by
enlarged postdiscal spots and well expressed submarginal spots on hind
winh underside. Ssp. ogumae Matsumura was described for the Sakhalin and
Kuriles, 1910; ssp. doii Matsumura, 1928 from the South Kuriles. The
island subspecies differ from the continental butterflies by a
glittering-blue colouration of wing uppreside in both sexes and a much
lighter ground colour of wing underside, on which the spots of
postdiscal and submarginal rows are contrasting, and also by details of
the male genitalia structure (the aedeagus, arms of the gnathos),
probably representing a separate species.
398. Maculines kurentzovi Sibatani, Saigusa et Hirowatari, 1994.
TYPE LOCALITY: N Korea: the Jangando Province: Handaeri.
RANGE: E Zabaikalye, Priamurye, Primorye, NE China, Korea.
HABITAT: mostly damp forest meadows, together with M. telejus.
FLIGHT PERIOD: late July/August.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 15-23 mm. Wing upperside brown with
hardly noticeable black spots and, in males, with slight suffusion of
blue scales; underside brownish-grey. On fore wing row of postdiscal
spots curved, the fifth spot from top is substantially shifted to wing
base; cell as a rule contains two black spots, the lower situating
closer to discoidal vein. Similar species: M. telejus.
ETYMOLOGY: Alexey Ivanovich Kurenzov - an entomologist and
zoogeographist, an outstanding explorer of the butterfly fauna of the
Russian Far East.
399. Maculinea arion (Linnaeus, 1758).
TYPE LOCALITY: Germany: Nurnberg.
RANGE: Europe (except for the North), South and Middle Ural, the
southern West Siberian Lowland, the Kuznetskoe Upland, Northe and West
Altai Mts., E Kazakhstan.
HABITAT: meadow and meadow-steppe plots in forests, pine woods, birch
groves, river valleys, on barren slopes, mountain piedmonts.
FLIGHT PERIOD: June/early July.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Europe. Foodplants: Thymus serpillum, Th.
marschalliana, Origanum vulgare. Eggs: hemisphaerical, blueish or
greensh, later become lighter; laid singly on the foodplant flowers.
Young larva: light-greenish-ochre coloured, covered with black dots and
serrate hairs; head black. At the fourth instar: pale-ochre with darker
ventral prolegs and a black spot on back of the first segment; dorsal
body side covered with pear-shaped protuberances and bears hairs forming
three rows on thoracic segments and four ones on abdomen; ventral side
set with dense short hairs; ventral prolegs dark. Mature larva: pale-
ochre with a lilac tint on sides; head ochre-coloured with a black
ornament. In Europe it is connected with the ant species Myrmica
sabuleti. Pupa: pale-yellow, later amber-coloured with greyish wing
cases and black spiracles; lies on the ground.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 17-21 mm. Wing upperside blue with a
dark outer border and a substantially bent row of lengthwise elongated
postdiscal spots; on hind wing underside there is a suffusion of blue
scales at base. In male genitalia valva not tapering to apex, apical
tooth not widened basally (Table....). Similar species: M. cyanecula, M.
alcon, M. telejus.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: The butterflies of Ural and W Siberia differ
from the nominotypical ones with a more substantial darkening of wing
upperside in females and should be attributed to ssp. ruehli
Krulikowsky, 1892 (= baschkiria Krulikowsky, 1897).
400. Maculinea cyanecula (Eversmann, 1848).
TYPE LOCALITY: Zabaikalye: Kyakhta.
RANGE: the mountains of S Siberia, Zabaikalye, the Upper and Middle
Priamurye (not downstream of the Malyi Hingan Mts.), Primorye (the Lake
Hanka Lowland), Mongolia, N, W and NE China, Korea.
HABITAT: Steppes and steppefied meadows, in the mountains locally up to
the tree-line. In the Novosibirsk Region on the Bugotakskie Sopki hill
range the species was found out by V. Ivonin to fly in the same habitats
as M. arion but later.
FLIGHT PERIOD: late June/early August.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: not studied. A probable foodplant: Thymus serpyllum.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 16-20 mm. Wing upperside ground colour
glittering-blue; on hind wing underside a suffusion of blue scales
extends to whole basal half or more. Similar species: M. arion, M.
alcon, M. telejus.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: The subspecies cyanecula Eversmann, 1848 (=
philidor Fruhstorfer, 1915) ranges in the mountains of S Siberia and
Mongolia; from the southern Far East (Nikolaevsk, Pogranichnyi) the
subspecies ussuriensis Sheljuzhko, 1928 has been described, it was also
reported for Priamurye. The butterflies depicted as ussuriensis in the
Guide by A. Kurenzov (1970) in fact refer to M. telejus euphemia.
GENUS SHIJIMIAEOIDES Beuret, 1958.
T.s.: Lycaena barine Leech, [Jan. 1893].
401. Shijimiaeoides divina (Fixsen, 1887).
TYPE LOCALITY: Korea:"Pung-Tung" (the mountains at about 38o n.lat.
/ 128o e. long.)
RANGE: Korea, Japan, S Primorye (Golubinyy Utes at the settlement
Khasan, the Spassk environs), reported also for the Amur (the environs
of Khabarovsk). A local and rather rare species.
HABITAT, FLIGHT PERIOD: In S Primorye the imagines were recorded in the
first half of June on meadows.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Japan (Fukuda et al., 1984). Foodplants:
Fabaceae. Eggs: whitish; laid on the foodplant flower buds, singly but
by a relatively large number per an inflorescence. Larva: yellowish-
white, lives on the inflorescences and is visited by ants. Pupa:
blackish, lies on the ground among gravel and twigs, hibernates.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 16-20 mm. Wing upperside violet-blue
with a darkened outer border, in females in addition with dark
postdiscal spots; on fore wing underside there is a conspicuous row of
large black postdiscal spots.
GENUS PLEBEJUS Kluk, 1802.
Type species: Papilio argus Linnaeus, 1758.
F.w.l.: 11-19 mm. In males the wing upperside is, as a rule,
blue, in females it is brown with orange submarginal spots on the
hind wing. On the fore wing underside there is no black dots in
the cell; the hind wing underside has a fulll row of submarginal
orange spots, usually fused.
A Holarctic genus which, according to recent revisions,
includes more than thirty species.
402. Plebejus pylaon (Fischer de Waldheim, 1832).
TYPE LOCALITY: Povolzhye.
RANGE: SE Europe, S Ural, N and E Kazakhstan, the southern W.
Siberia, Altai, the Kuznetskoe Upland, reported for Zabaikalye
(the town Kyakhta) (Ershov, 1876), probably erroneously. A local
and relatively rare species.
HABITAT: steppes and dry meadows on hill tops, southern
mountain slopes, crests and river terraces.
FLIGHT PERIOD: in S. Ural: late May/middle June, in Altai
locally continues to middle July.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants:
Astragalus, also reported are Medicago and Veronica.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 13-17 mm. On the wing
upperside in males the veins are not darkened, there is a narrow
dark border along the outer border; in females the upperside is
brown with three or four large orange spots on the hind wing;
both sexes have discal spots on the upperside; on the hind wing
underside the black marginal dots have no glittering scales.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: The subspecies katunensis Balint et
Lukhtanov, 1990 ranges in Altai and the Kuznetskiy Alatau.
403. Plebejus lucifer (Staudinger, 1867)
(= biton Bremer, 1861; lornex Higgins, 1981).
TYPE LOCALITY: Ust'-Kamenogorsk, W. Altai.
RANGE: The mountains of S Siberia, NE Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and W
China. A local species, but in some years appear in great
numbers, especially in Tuva.
HABITAT: steppefied meadows in river valleys and on mountain
slopes (locally - up to the highlands), dry hills in
intermontane hollows, larch wood edges.
FLIGHT PERIOD: middle June/late July.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 13-16 mm. In both sexes the
wing upperside is dark-brown, with a suffusion of glittering
emerald-blue scales in males and orange submarginal spots in
females; on the hind wing underside an emerald-blue suffusion
presents at the base, the submarginal orange spots are small
and separated from each other and are accompanied by green-
glittering dots.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: The mountains of SOuth Siberia are
inhabited by the subspecies lucifer (= lornex Higgins, 1981). A
close taxa have been described from Zabaikalye: selengensis
Forster, 1940, and biton Bremer, 1861 (the latter - "from Dauria
and Ussuri")
404. Plebejus argus (Linnaeus, 1758)
TYPE LOCALITY: S. Sweden.
RANGE: The non-tropical Eurasia northwards, in Siberia, to the
middle taiga belt.
HABITAT: meadows of various kinds, steppes, wasting lands,
settlements.
FLIGHT PERIOD: in Ural and Siberia usually in two
broods, in June/July and August/September.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: Fabaceae (Trifolium,
Chamaecytisus, Genista, Lotus, Ononis, Lathyrus, Vicia), and
also Polygonaceae and Asteraceae were reported. Eggs: white,
flattened, apically with a dim; laid singly on the foodplant or
near it on the ground. Hibernation occurs at the egg or larval
stage. Larva: light-green, grey, yellow, or dark-brown with
lighter spots, covered with black and white dots and fine ochre
hairs; a row of brown triangular spots, which are often fused
into a stripe, goes along the back, laterally of which there are
dark slanting strokes; a dark line goes also under the white
spiracles. The tenth segment bears a gland for attracting the
ants, manifested by black hairy warts. The larva is found
underneath the leaves or in anthills of the ants of the genus
Formica. It pupates on the ground under dead leaves or gravel,
rarely underneath the leaves. Pupa: elongate, light-green or
yellowish-brown (darker at the hind part of the body) with a
red line along the back, ochre spiracles, and black spots at the
cremaster.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 11-15 mm. The fore tibia ends
with a large curved tooth. The males have a dark ourter border
1.5-3 mm wide on the wing upperside; on the hind wing underside
the marginal dots are glittering due to metallic scales. In the
male genitalia the costal processus of the valva bears long
teeth (See appendix). Similar species: P. (idas), P. argyrognomon.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: The species is variable individually
and geographically. The following subspecies are worth
mentionning. From Ural and West the Siberian Lowland the
subspecies obensis Forster, 1936 (= korshunovi Standel, 1960) is
known, which is characterized by a violet tint on the wings in
males and smaller red submarginal spots on the hind wing
underside as compared with European butterflies. In the
mountains of South Siberia and the Stanovoe Upland the subspeces
clarasiatica Verity, 1931 (= katunica Standel, 1960) ranges,
differing from the former by a lighter ground colour of the wing
underside and a violet-blue upperside ground colour in males. In
the Middle Priamurye and Primorye the subspecies coreana Tutt,
1908 occurs (?= kurentzovi Kocak, 1980, pro orientalis Kurenzov,
1970, as the name is preoccupied by P. argus orientalis Tutt,
1909)), which is characterized by a greater size and the
absence of glittering marginal dots on the hind wings. Besides,
from the mountains of Sikhote-Alin' and Lower Priamurye small
butterflies with a darkened wing underside ground colour are
known. The subspecies pseudoaegon Butler, 1881 is known,
differing with a light-blue colouration of the male wing
upperside, which shows a narrow dark border accompanied by black
spots on the hind wing. In this subspecies the underside ground
colour is whitish, the red submarginal spots on the hind wing
are large but isolated from each other. From the Yakutsk environs the
subspecies caerulea was described [but after publication its author
communicated he confused the genitalia preparations so the description
refers in fact to Plebejus (idas) tancrei]. Original description:
"Blue upperside ground colour is found also in the males of P. argus
from Central Yakutia. They approach by a number of external features to
Plebejus tancrei verknojanicus, also inhabiting Yakutia, but well differ
from them by the genitalia (see Appendix). We describe them here as
Plebejus argus caerulea P. Gorbunov, sbsp. n.
HOLOTYPE: - a male. F.w.l.: 12.5 mm. The wing upperside is glittering-
blue, whereas violet in other Siberian subspeceis. The dark border is
about 1 mm wide, on the hind wing it is contacted by blask spots
situated between the veins. The wing underside ground colour is pale-
grey, a bit darker than in the South Yakutian butterflies of ssp.
clarasiatica. On the fore wing upperside the marginal spots are small,
clear-cut, the row of the postdiscal spots is less curved than in ssp.
clarasiatica. MATERIALS: HolotypeL: a male, C Yakutia, the Yakutsk city,
the Botany Garden, a meadow on a larch wood edge, 28.06.1992 (P.
Gorbunov). Paratypes: the same locality, 28.06.1992 - 1 male (P.
Gorbunov); Yakutia, 2.07.1968 - 2 males (Zakharov). "
405. Plebejus argyrognomon (Bergstrasser, 1779).
TYPE LOCALITY: Germany: Hanau-Munzberg.
RANGE: The temperate Eurasia, in W Siberia northwards to the
southern taiga belt, in E Siberia to the Prilenskoe Plateau,
Verkhoyanye and the Magadan Region; known from N. Amercia.
HABITAT: various meadows, steppes.
FLIGHT PERIOD: usually in two broods, in middle June/July and
August/September, respectively; in the North and in highlands -
in June/July in a single brood.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Europe. Foodplants:
Fabaceae, such as Astragalus, Trifolium, Mellilotus, Coronilla.
Eggs: round, wrinkled, white with an orange dot at the apex;
laid singly on the foodplant, hibernate. Larva: bright-green,
rarely brown, covered with dots and fine velvety hairs; a
reddish or brown line goes along the back and a similar one -
beneath the whitish spiracles; there are slanting whitish
streaks on the sides; the head and thoracic legs are brownish-
black. The larva usually hides on the ground, it is visited by
ants of the genera Lasius and Formica. Pupa: at first green,
later become pale-brown, the hind part of the body and the eyes
are reddish-brown; it is placed in a shelter made out of several
silk-spun leaves, or in an ant nest.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 11-18 mm. The wing upperside
in males is violet or blue with a narrow (usually less than 0.5 mm
wide) dark border; the underside is light-grey in both sexes.
The fore tibia ends with a small tooth. In the male genitalia
the apex of the costal processus of the valva bears a great
number of very fine teeth (Table....). Similar species: P.
(idas), P. argyrognomon, P. argus.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: The butterflies from Ural, W. Siberia,
Altai and Prisayanye belong to the subspecies caerulescens Grum-
Grshimailo, 1893. They differ from the European ones, in
particular, by a more narrow dark border in males. The
subspecies chalcha Korshunov, 1982 is reported for Tuva, this
subspecies widely ranges in Mongolia and differs by a more blue
than violet wing uppersode ground colour in males. Close to it,
but to some extent smaller, is the subspecies transbaicalensis
Kurenzov, 1970, described by the materials from Pribaikalye,
Zabaikalye and the Stanovoe Upland. The subspecies jacutica
Kurenzov, 1970 ranges in Yakutia and the Magadan region, it
differs by smaller submarginal spots on the hind wing underside
and a darker wing upperside ground colour in males. The largest
subspecies ussurica Forster, 1936 inhabits Priamurye and
Primorye.
superspecies idas
In males the wing upperside is blue with dark veins and an
outer dark border which is wider than 0.5 mm. The fore tibia in
both sexes is pointed apically but bears no tooth. In the male
genitalia the costal processus of the valva has about 10 minute
teeth (Table ...).
The imagines of the constituing taxa are very close to each
other (and superficially resemble also P. argyrognomon and
P.argus); they replace each other geographically, except for P.
subsolanus and P. tancrei in teh Far East.
406. Plebejus (idas) idas (Linnaeus, 1758).
TYPE LOCALITY: South Sweden.
RANGE: Europe, Anterior Asia, the mountains of Central Asia and
E and SE Kazakhstan, South and Central Ural, the southern West
Siberia. The details of geographical distribution in Ural and
Siberia are insufficiently known. There exist reliable records
for a number of sites in the Chelyabinsk, Novosibirsk, and Tomsk
regions, and for Altaiskiy Kray [the Altai region].
HABITAT: meadows of different types, in ALtai Mts. occurs up to
2000 m altitude.
FLIGHT PERIOD: June/July, the possibility of the second brood
not being excluded in southern regions.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Europe. Foodplants: Fabaceae (Astragalus,
Chamaecytisus, Coronilla, Lathyrus, Lotus, Lupinus, Medicago,
Trifolium, Vicia, etc.), Vaccinium was also reported. Eggs:
round, wrinkled, white with a dark dot at the apex. Larva: green
with a diffuse dark line on the back, with an interrupted white
rim, and a light line on either side above the legs; the body is
covered with short hairs. Pupa: green or pale greenish-brown,
with yellowish abdominal segments.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 11-16 mm. The wing upperside
in males is viole with conspicuous dark veins and rather a
narrow (0.5-1.5 mm) dark border; the wing underside is straw-
grey or whitish in both sexes; &the glittering marginal spots
are present. In male genitalia the apex of the costal processus
of the valva has no large teeth (see Appendix). Similar species:
P. subsolanus, P. argus, P. argyrognomon.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: The butterflies from Ural and the West-
Siberian Lowland are close to the subspecies idas, males of
which are characterized by a violet wing upperside with a dark
border about 1 mm wide, accompanied with black spots on the hind
wings. The butterflies from the Kuznetskoe Upland and Altai by a
number of characters (a lighter wing underside ground colour and
a wider border in males) approach P. subsolanus.&
407. Plebejus (idas) subsolanus (Eversmann, 1851)
TYPE LOCALITY: Irkutsk.
RANGE: The mountains of S Siberia, the southern Far East,
Mongolia, N and NE China, Korea, Japan.
HABITAT: meadows of different types, up to the tree-line in the
mountains. The butterflies actively visit flowering plants and
form congregations on the wet ground in hot days.
FLIGHT PERIOD: June/middle August.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Japan (Fukuda et al., 1984).
Foodplants: Vicia, Astragalus, Hedysarum and other legumes.
Eggs: flattened, white; deposited and hibernate on the stems,
large leaves, or stones at the foodplant base. The young larva
feeds on buds and young leaves, in the last instar it is visited
by ants. Mature larva: green with a yellowish-white lines
beneath the spiracles. Pupa: light-green; under the leaves, in
the leaf fall, or under gravel.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 13-19 mm. The wing upperside
in males is dark-blue with &dark veins and& a dark outer border
more than 2 mm wide, in females it is dark-brown without
noticeable suffusion of blue scales. There is a smooth cline of
increasing the width of this border from 1 mm in West Siberia to
almost the entire outer half of the wing in the Far East. The
wing underside in both sexes is light-grey or whitish; the
marginal black spots on the hind wing usually lack metallic-
glittering scales. &Similar species: P. idas, P. tancrei, P.
argus.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: In the East Sayan, Pribaikalye and,
possibly, eastwards there ranges the subspecies subsolanus (=
aegonides Bremer, 1864; ? = ida Grum-Grshimailo, 1891; ? =
kenteana Staudinger, 1892). The butterflies from the Kuznetskiy
mountain region, Altai, and the West Sayan, descrivbed as ongodai Tutt,
1909 exhibit characters transitory between P. subsolanus and P.
idas. It is not excluded that this territory is the zone of
intragression between these taxa. Smaller size and a narrow
border cherecterize also the subslecies ternejana Kurenzov, 1970
described from the highlands (1500 m above sea level) of the
Sikhote-Alin' (Primorye).
SYSTEMATIC NOTES: Earlier this species was mentionned under the
name cleobis Bremer, 1861, but the comparison of types of cleobis and
subsolanus, preserved in Zoological Institute (StPetersburg)
showed their conspecificity. Maybe it would be better to regard
this species as conspecific to the previous one.
408. Plebejus (idas) tancrei Graeser, 1888.
TYPE LOCALITY: the city Nikolaevsk-na-Amure,
RANGE: E Siberia, Kamchatka, the eastern ranges of the
mountains of Bureya, Lower Priamurye (downstream of Komsomol'sk-
na-Amure), mountains of NE. China.
HABITAT: valley meadows, pebble banks, open woods on rocky
mountain slopes; in Kamchatka - montane fruticulose tundras.
FLIGHT PERIOD: July.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Probable foodplants: Empetrum nigrum s.l.,
Ledum, Vaccinium, Astragalus.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 11-17 mm. The wing upperside
in males is blue with rather a narrow (up to 2 mm) dark outer
border; the wing underside in both sexes is greyish with
whotosh spots in the ostdiscal area, rarely entirely whitish; on the hind wing
underside the metallic glittering marginal spots are absent ore
there present one or two of them in males and up
to six ones in females.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: The largest (f.w.l. 15-17 mm)
nominotypical subspecies ranges in the Amur basin; ssp.
verchojanicus Kurenzov, 1970, widely distributed in the north
of E. Siberia, including the Ochot coast, differs by a smaller
size, a darker ground colour of the wing underside and on
average a narrower border in males and also the submarginal
spots on the fore wingn underside being more close to the outer
margin. Kamchatka is inhabited by the smallest subspecies
kamtchatica Kurenzov, 1970, difering from verchojanicus by a
reduction of the dark border on the wing upperside in males to a
hardly noticeable dark line.
ETYMOLOGY: K.A. Tancre - an ornithologist and entomologist, an
explorer of E Siberia and the Far East.
GENUS VACCINIINA Tutt, 1909.
T.s..: Papilio optilete Knoch, 1781.
A Holarctic genus with two species.
382. Vacciniina optilete (Knoch, 1781).
T.l.: Germany: Brunswick.
RANGE: the northern half of Eurasia, penetrating in the mountain region
as south as the Tien-Shan and Mongolia, the Sakhalin, the Kuriles,
Japan, the north-west of N America.
HABITAT: open stands in dark-needle coniferous forests, pine and larch
woods with the peat moss in the ground layer, raised bogs, tundras of
various types. The imagines visit flowering plants, such as Geranium,
Cacalia, Polygonum, Aegopodium, Ledum, Spiraea; in the taiga belt they
are mostly found under the forest canopy.
FLIGHT PERIOD: June/July, in the polar regions - July/August.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: Vaccinium uliginosum, V. myrtillus,
Oxycoccus (VAcciniaceae), reported also Empetrum (Empetraceae). Eggs:
whitish, round with fine wrinkles; deposited singly on the foodplant
stems and leaves. A young larva eats the leaf mesophyl but lefts the
veins; a mature one feeds on leaves, flowers, and berries; it
hibernates. Mature larva: light- or yellowish-green, with a white
lengthwise streak, dark bordered above, going along eithger side and
accompanied by two rows of white dots above and beneath; spiracles
white; body covered with fine fulvous hairs. Pupa: yellowish, dark-brown
or light-green, with red spots between segments; set with reddish hairs;
it is found on the foodplant stem or leaves.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 10-15 mm. Wing upperside violet-blue
with a narrow dark outer border in males, dark-brown, usually with a
violet suffusion, in females; on hind wing underside at anal angle there
is a glittering blue ocellus and a large orange spot proximally of it.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: In the northern Ural, Siberia and the northern Far
East ssp. sibirica Staudinger, 1892 (= baicalica Kurenzov, 1970) is
widely distributed, differing from the nominotypical one by somewhat
lighter both wing sides and a well expressed violet suffusion on hind
wing upperside in females. From Priamurye and the Sikhote-Alin' Mts. the
largest ssp. amurica Kurenzov, 1970 is known, differing from sibirica by
larger black spots on wing underside. Dark butterflies from the
southern Ural were described as uralensis Seitz, 1909 (Courvoiser
i.l.); the island butterflies - as sachalinensis Kurenzov, 1970: the
Sakhalin; kurilensis Matsumura, 1927: the island Paramushir (the N
Kuriles); kamuikotana Matsumura,1928: the island Kunashir (the S
Kuriles). The latter taxon little differs from daisetsusana Matsumura
1926, described from Hokkaido.
GENUS ARICIA Reichenbach, 1817.
T.s.: Papilio agestis Denis et Schiffermuller, 1775.
A Palearctic genus including about 15 species.
410. Aricia eumedon (Esper, 1780)
TYPE LOCALITY: Germany: Erlangen.
RANGE: The non-tropical Eurasia, locally northwards to the subpolar
regions.
HABITAT: forest and subalpine forb meadows; "mari" [bogged up larch
woods]. The imagines visit the Geranium flowers much more frequently
than the others.
FLIGHT PERIOD: June in the forest-steppe zone; July in the North and in
highlands.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: Geranium (G. pratense and others). Eggs:
greenish, round, flattened at the poles; deposited singly. The larvae
hatch at 5-8th day. A young larva: greenish with a black head. Mature
larva: yellowish-green with a fine whitish pubescence and a vague light-
yellow stripes along head and spiracles. The larva hibernates. Pupa:
light greenish-yellow with a darker dorsal side.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 11-17 mm. Wing upperside brown
in both sexes; fringe evenly white; on hind wing underside
postdiscal spots form an evenly convex row without a white area
between the fourth and fifth spots, a narrow white beam goes from
discal spot to outer margin, which may be absent (f. fylgia
Spangberg). In some regions this form predominates.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION: The butterflies from the southern half of Ural
and Siberia little differ from ssp. eumedon. From Kamchatka the ssp.
fylgides P. Gorbunov, 1995 has been described. Original description:
"...All the specimens from Kamchatka, known to us, have no
white beam on the hind wing underside and are characterized by
the black dots and orange spots (in males) of the hind wing
underside smaller than in typical butterflies. We describe them
as a subspecies Aricia eumedon fylgides P. Gorbunov, sbsp.n.
MALE. F.w.l. 11.2-13.0 mm. The wing upperside is evenly dark-
brown. The wing underside ground colour is ash-grey. Five
postdiscal spots on the fore wing and six on the hind wing are
significantly smaller than in the nominotypical subspecies. The
black discal spot on the fore wing is as well smaller. The
discal spot on the hind wing is white, triangular in shape, in
two paratypes with black scales in the centre. The white beam is
absent. Dark spots at the fore wing outer margin are reduced to
traces, the orange spots (peculiar to the subspecies eumedon)
are not seen here. On the fore wing underside the orange spots
are smallet than in the subspecies eumedon, their size reducing
from the anal angle to the apex, the dark lulunes accompanying
they internaly are weakly expressed. The hind wing base has a
suffusion of glittering blueish scales, the black basal spots
are absent or only one of them, closest to the fore margin, is
present. The fringe is evenly white.
FEMALE. F.w.l. 13.4-14.2 mm. The wing upperside is brown with
three orange lunules at the anal angle of the hind wing. The
wing underside ground colour is brown-grey. The basal. discal
and the postdiscal black spots are as in males. The orange
submarginal spots are much larger, 3-4 of such pale-orange spots
are present also on the fore wing. The black lunules
(internally) and black dots (externally) accompanying the orange
spots are less expressed than in the nominotypical subspecies.
MATERIALS: The holotype: a male - 22.07.1983, Kamchatka,
Paratunka (V.N. Olshvang). Paratypes: 2 males - 22.07.1983, the
same locality; 3 males 1 female - 14.07.1983, Kamchatka,
ganal'skaya Tundra (V.N. Olshvang); 3 males 1 female -
6.07.1968, Kamchatka, the Mil'kovo District, the middle flow of
the Kavycha River; 4 males - 18.06.1984, Kamchatka, the environs
of the city of Petropavlovsk."
411. Aricia allous (Huebner, 1819).
(= astarche auct. nnec Bergstrasser,1779; artaxerxes auct. nec
Fabricius, 1793).
TYPE LOCALITY: the Alps.
RANGE: N Africa, Europe, Anterior and Central Asia, N and E Kazakhstan,
Ural (from the Subpolar to South), Siberia (northwards to the northern
taiga belt), the southern FAr East, the Sakhalin, and also Mongolia, N
and NE China, Korea.
HABITAT: damp meadows of various types, birch groves. The imagines
were observed to feed on the flowers of Geranium, Myosotis palustris,
Trifolium lupinaster, T. pratense.
FLIGHT PERIOD: June/July, locally in S Ural and Siberia in two broods:
late May/July and late June/Autumn.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Europe. Foodplants: Geranium, rarely
Erodium, reported is also Helianthemum nummularium. Eggs: light-
greenish, flattened, wrinkled, laid singly on the foodplant flowers.
Larva: green with a dark-green stripe along back and a light lateral
line bordered with pink spots. It hibernates in the third instar. Pupa:
greenish-yellow with dark arch-like streaks at eyes. Being disturbed, it
produces a crunching sound. Hibernation occurs at the stage of mature
larva.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 12-16 mm. Wing upperside is dark-brown
in both sexes, in females and often also in males with orange lunules at
outer margin; on hind wing underside row of postdiscal spots interrupted
between the second and third spot and a white area presents between the
fourth and fifth spots.
GEOGRAPHCAL VARIATION: subspecies: inhonora, Jahontov, 1909: Ural; strandi
Obraztsov,1935 (= MONARCHUS hIGGINS, 1982): Siberia, Priamurye;
mandzuriana Obraztsov, 1935: Primorye; sachalinensis Matsumura, 1919:
the Sakhalin.
412. Aricia chinensis (Murray, 1874).
TYPE LOCALITY: China: northwards of Peking.
RANGE: Mongolia, West, Central, and North-East China, Korea. In the
Asian Russia rather common in SE Zabaikalye (at the village Nizhnii
Tsasuchei, Torei Lakes). By occasional findings, possibly of migrated
specimens, is known from Novosibirsk (R. Dudko leg.), Khakassia (Lake
Shira environs), the Minusinsk Hollow (the Tagarskiy island at the city
Minusinsk), forest regions of Zabaikalye.
HABITAT, FLIGHT PERIOD: In SE Zabaikalye the imagines were observed
flying in late May/late June in steppefied areas, fields, wasting lands.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 13-15 mm. Wing upperside is dark-brown
in both sexes with large orange spots forming a postdiscal band on each
wing; fringe chequered; hind wing underside lacks a white area or beam.
GEOGRAPHCAL VARIATION: little studied. The taxon sibiricana V.
Kozantshikov, 1923 was described from the Minusinsk surroundings.
413. Aricia nicias (Meigen, 1830). (= donzelii Boisduval, 1832).
TYPE LOCALITY: Rhetian Alps.
RANGE: the Pirenees, the Alps, some forest regions of N Europe and W
Siberia, North and Middle Ural, the mountains of S Siberia and Mongolia.
A local species.
HABITAT: meadow areas in dark-needle coniferous forests, pine woods. In
Central Altai the species is rather frequent in woody stows among
steppes, for instance in the surroundings of Kuray. The imagines feed
mostly on the flowers of Geranium.
FLIGHT PERIOD: middle June/late July, depending on the lcoality.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in N Europe (Henriksen, Kreutzer, 1982).
Foodplants: Geranium (G. sylvaticum, G. pratense, and others). Eggs:
white, later become greenish, haemisphaeric, flattened at the pole;
deposited singly. The larvae hatch out at 5-8th day. Young larva:
greenish with a black head. Mature larva: yellowish-green, densely
covered with fine hairs, with three narrow brown dark lines on either
side, a dark-green stripe along back, and vague slanting lines on sides
of each segment. Hibernation occurs at the stage of egg or a young
larva. Pupa: yellowish-green with a brown streak aling back, covered
with light hairs; it lies on the ground.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 12-14 mm. In males wing upperside
glistening greyish-green or blueish with a dark outer border about 2-4
mm wide; in females wing upperside dark-brown; on hind wing underside
there is a white beam going throughout from wing base to outer margin,
orange spots at the outer margin are obscure.
GEOGRAPHCAL VARIATION: Ural and West-Siberian lowland are inhabited by
ssp. Aricia nicias kolosovi Korshunov, 1995 (pro. Lycaena nicias
septentrionalis Krulikowsky in Seitz, 1909, nec. Lycaena icarus
septentrionalis Fusch, 1900, differing from the Central-European
butterflies by a lighter wing underside ground colour and, on average,
a narrower dark border on wing upperside in males. Altai and the
Kuznetskoe Upland are inhabited with ssp. bittis Fruhstorfer, 1915,
differing by a blue ground colour of wing upperside and a wider dark
border in males. The subspecies borsippa Fruhstorfer, 1915 was described
from Zabaikalye.
GENUS AGRIADES Huebner, 1819
T.s.: Papilio glandon de Prunner, 1798.
414. Agriades glandon (de Prunner, 1798) (= aquilo Boisduval, 1832;
orbitulus auct. )
TYPE LOCALITY: the Western Alps.
RANGE: Certain mountain regions of Europa, Polar Ural, the north
of Middle Siberia, E Siberia, the mountains of S Siberia and
Mongolia, Chukotka, Kamchatka, the north and west of N America. A local
species.
HABITAT: montane tundras: rocky, dwarf-birch, and with
the domination of Dryas, alpine meadows, larch parklands. In Central
Yakutia and Zabaikalye, besides, stony outcrops on meadowy and
steppefied areas.
FLIGHT PERIOD: July in the majority of sites. On the Prilenskoe Plateau
and Zabaikalye: middle June/early July.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: in Yakutia Saxifraga bronchialis and S
spinulosa (V. Dubatolov), in Zabaikalye S. spinulosa (O. Kosterin). From
Europe and America reported are also Saxifraga oppositifolia and
Fabaceae (Astragulus alpinus), Primulaceae (Androsace bungeana, A.
septentrionalis), Diapensiaceae (Diapensia lapponica), Vaccinium
(Vacciniaceae). According to observations in Scandinavia (Henriksen,
Kreutzer, 1982), eggs: greenish-white, laid singly or in batches on
different parts of foodplants. Larva: green, with a dark whitish-rimmed
stripe along back, red spots on each segment, a reddish lateral line and
dark transversal strokes on each segment. Spiracles dark, surrounded by
white rings. Body covered with short brownish hairs. The larva
hibernates. Pupa: light-brown with streaks on wing cases; it can be
found in hollows between gravel or in rock crevices.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 10-14 mm. The wing upperside is
blueish-steel-coloured in males and brownish in females; the pattern on
the hind wing underside consists of white spots of various shape and
size, some of which may contain black dots, on a darker background.
GEOGRAPHCAL VARIATION: Ssp. aquilo Boisduval, 1832, ranging in N Europe,
is known from Polar Ural. ssp. wosnesenskyi Menetries, 1857 inhabits
the northern Middle and East Siberia and Far East, it differs from
aquilo by a darker hind wing underside ground colour and smaller white
spots. In the mountains of S Siberia and Mongolia there ranges ssp.
diodorus Bremer, 1864 (= orbitulinus Staudinger, 1892), differing from
the northern subspecies by distinct black spots on hind wing underside
and a presence of black dots on white spots on hind wing underside.
GENUS ALBULINA Tutt, 1909.
T.s.: Papilio pheretes Huebner, 1806.
A Palearctic genus including not less than three species.
415. Albulina orbitulus (de Prunner, 1798) (= atys Huebner, 1803;
pheretes Huebner, 1805).
TYPE LOCALITY: the Italian Alps: Piemont.
RANGE: The Alps, S Scandinavia, the Stanovoe Nagorye Upland, the
mountains of S Siberia, Mongolia and C China; by few findings is known
from N Ural (the village Burmantovo), S Ural (the Iremel' mountain),
steppen Transbaikalia (at Lake Barun-Torei), Lower Priamurye
(Komsomol'sk-na Amure), the northern Sikhote-Alin' (the Khadi River). A
local species.
HABITAT: montane forest and highland meadows, detrituous screes, rocky
areas, in the mountains of S Siberia - up to 3000 m altitude. In SE
Zabaikallye is reported for a plain steppen bank of Lake Barun-Torei
(Pljushch, 1992). According to observations by V. Ivonin in
Pribaikalye, in humid habitats of forest meadows the butterflies are
larger and lighter than in steppefied biotopes.
FLIGHT PERIOD: middle June/late July.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Norway (Henriksen, Kreutzer, 1982).
Foodplants: Astragalus alpinus, A. frigidus, and A. oroboides are known.
Eggs: white, with a network of minute dimples, laid singly on the
foodplants. Larva: dark-green with dark-brown hairs, wiht a row of brown
spots along back and a light lateral line; head black; body hairs rise
from white star-shaped knobs. The larva hibernates. Pupa: yellowish-
brown, with lightened wing cases and short brown hairs on back.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 11-17 mm. In males wing upperside is
glistening-blue with a dark outer border about 1 mm wide, in females
upperside dark-brown; hind wing underside with large oval white spots on
a greenish-grey background.
GEOGRAPHCAL VARIATION: From the Hentei [Kentei] Mts. ssp. pheretimus
Staudinger, 1892, differing from European butterflies by a larger size,
a full row of the postdiscal sppots on the fore wing underside, larger
white spots on hind wing underside and a wide black border on wing
upperside in males, especially on the hind wing, where it is usually
accompanied with black spots. Somewhat westerly, from the Sayans, ssp.
sajana Ruhl in Ruhl et Heyne, 1895 has been described, which ranges also
in the Altai. Males of this subspecies lacks black spots at the black
border of hind wing upperside, while females lack a suffusion of blue
scales on the upperside.
GENUS CYANIRIS Dalman, 1816.
T.s.: Cyaniris argianus Dalman, 1816.
A Paleacrtic genus with four or five speceis.
416. Cyaniris semiargus (Rottemburg, 1775).
TYPE LOCALITY: Germany: Saxonia: Halle.
RANGE: The temperate Eurasia, locally northwards to the forest-tundra
zone (the Ob' Basin), the Sakhalin.
HABITAT: meadows of various kinds, including highland ones, steppefied
slopes, pastures, settlements.
FLIGHT PERIOD: in most regions June/July, in the southern range in two
broods: middle May/late June and July/August, respectively.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: various Fabaceae, such as Trifolium,
Melilotus, Genista. Eggs: small, greenish-blue; laid singly or as a row
of several ones, usually on the foodplant. Larva: light-yellowish-green
with a dark back and obscure lateral lines; body is covered with fine
hairs; head, thoracal legs and spiracles dark-brown. The larva eats the
flowers, after hibernation - leaves. Pupa: light-olive-green or brown;
on the foodplant stems; it is also able of hibernation.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 13-16 mm. In males wing upperside
is violet with a dark outer border about 1 mm wide, in females it is
brown; the hind wing underside is blueish-grey with the only row of
black spots in the postdiscal area and a suffusion with glittering blue
scales at the base. Similar species: Cupido osiris.
GEOGRAPHCAL VARIATION: In Ural and the West Siberian Lowland there
ranges ssp. uralensis Tutt, 1909, rather close to the nominotypical
subspecies and differing from it by smaller black spots on the wing
underside and on average a wider dark border in males. Ssp. altaiana
Tutt, 1909 (= pavlovi Kurenzov, 1970) is reported for S Siberia. The
males of the subspecies amurensis Tutt, 1909, ranging in Priamurye and
Primorye, have the widest dark border on wing upperside.
GENUS POLYOMMATUS Latreille, 1804.
T.s.: Papilio icarus Rottemburg, 1775.
A Palearctic genus which, as regarded in a broad sense, includes not
less than 70 species.
417. Polyommatus thersites (Cantener, 1834).
TYPE LOCALITY: France: Vosges.
RANGE: S Europe, the Western and Central Asia north-east to the forest-
steppe zone of West Siberia, Altai, the intermontane hollows of Tuva.
HABITAT: steppefied meadows, steppes on mountain slopes.
FLIGHT PERIOD: in two broods in middle May/late June and August
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: Onobrychis arenaria. Eggs: much resemble
those of P. icarus but are somewhat smaller. Larva: blueish-green with
light lengthwise lines on back and sides, body covered by whitish hairs.
Pupa: stout, olive-green with a darker back line and light-green wing
cases.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 12-16 mm. In males wing upperside
violet-blue, in females brown with orange submarginal lunules. On fore
wing underside there is no black spot in cell; the hind wing underside
the second (from the costa) black spot of the postdiscal row situated
just under the first spot of submarginal row. Similar species: P.
icarus.
GEOGRAPHCAL VARIATION: The southern Ural and W Siberia are inhabited
with ssp. thersites. For the mountains of S Siberia reported is the
subspecies orientis Sheljuzhko, 1928.
418. Polyommatus amanda (Schneider, 1792).
TYPE LOCALITY: S Sweden: Blekinge.
RANGE: The non-tropical Eurasia, in Siberia as northwards as the
middle taiga belt; in the eastern Asia - only in the Amur basin.
HABITAT: forest meadows, mostly in valleys.
FLIGHT PERIOD: June/July, in the southern Ural and Siberia scarce
imagines of the second brood were recorded in August.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: Vicia cracca and other Fabaceae. Eggs:
white. Larva: dark-green, covered with dense fine hairs, with a line
along back which is reddish brown, light-rimmed, and laterally
accompanied by chains of brown spots; a white stripe goes above legs and
prolegs; the head is glossy black or brown.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 14-20 mm. In males wing upperside
glittering blue, in females brown with orange submarginal lunules. On
hind wing underside orange spots at outer margin reducing in size from
the anal angle to the costal margin, in males they usually do not reach
the latter.
GEOGRAPHCAL VARIATION: The butterflies of the southern Ural and Siberia
are close to ssp. amanda (?= lydia Krulikovsky, 1892, the type locality
- the Kazan' Province). Ssp. amurensis Staudinger, 1892 ranges in
Priamurye and Primorye, it differs by larger orange and black spots on
hind wing underside and a bright greenish-blue ground colour of wing
upperside in males.
419. Polyommatus damon (Denis et Schiffermuller, 1775).
TYPE LOCALITY: Vienna.
RANGE: Europe (except for the North), S Ural, the southern Siberia, E
Kazakhstan, Mongolia. This is a local species but in some places it is
very abundant.
HABITAT: meadow patches in river valleys, mountain slopes, at birch
groves and pine woods; meadow steppes.
FLIGHT PERIOD: late June/middle August.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: Onobrychis arenaria, reported also
Medicago falcata and other Fabaceae. The hibernation occurs at the stage
of the egg or a young larva. Larva: yellowish-green with a dark-green
stripe on back and either side and a yellowish or reddish line along
spiracles; body covered with dense hairs. The larva feeds on the flowers
and is usually accompanied by ants. Pupa: ochre-coloured or greenish-
yellow with a darker dorsal side.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 15-19 mm. In males wing upperside
glistening silvery-blue with a wide (about 3 mm in width) dark outer
darkening, in females wing upperside brown. Pattern of wing underside
consists of postdiscal black spots, which are much larger on fore wing
than on hind one, and a bright and contrasted white beam on hind wing.
GEOGRAPHCAL VARIATION: The southern Ural and Siberia are inhabited with
ssp. damon. In the mountains of S Siberia and N Mongolia there ranges
ssp. mongolensis Kocak, 1980 (= mongolica Kurenzov, 1970, nom.
praeocc.), with a wide dark border on wing upperside.
420. Polyommatus rippartii (Freyer, 1830).
TYPE LOCALITY: the Alps.
RANGE: S Europe, Anterior Asia, the mountains of the eastern Central
Asia and E Kazakhstan, S Ural, the southern West Siberian Lowland, the
Upper Obr' basin, the Kuznetskoe Upland, the Kuznetskoe Alatau and Altai
Mts. A local species.
HABITAT: steppefied meadows and meadow steppes on mountain slopes, wood
edges, river terraces, bush thickets.
FLIGHT PERIOD: late June/middle August.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Europe. Foodplants: Onobrychis arenaria
is known.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 15-18 mm. The wing upperside is dark-
brown in both sexes; pattern of wing underside consists of postdiscal
black spots, which are slightly larger on fore wing than on hind one,
and, on hind wing underside, an inconspicuous white beam.
ETYMOLOGY: Rippert de Beaugeney was menntionned by D.A. Boisduval as a
person collecting butterflies at de Digne in June-July 1829. .
421. Polyommatus damone (Eversmann, 1841) (= carmon auct. non Herrich-
Schaffer, 1851).
TYPE LOCALITY: the Volga Basin: Sergievsk, by the lectotypus
(Dantchenko, Lukhtnov, 1993).
RANGE: SE Europe, S Ural (the villages Abazanovo, Aknazarovo, the
settlements Bugul'chan, Uchaly), Altai, Tuva, the southern Middle
Siberia (the surroundings of the cities Krasnoyarsk and Minusinsk), the
western half of Mongolia. A local species.
HABITAT: edges of forest-steppen pine woods and birch groves, steppefied
areas, predominantly on bushy mountain slopes and on river terraces.
FLIGHT PERIOD: middle June/August, depending on the locality.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplant: Hedysarum sp. (A. Dantchenko).
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 14-17 mm. In males wing upperside
glistening blue with a narrow (about 0.5 mm) dark outer border, in
females brown. Pattern of wing underside consists of postdiscal black
spots, which are much larger on fore wing than on hind one, and, on hind
wing underside, a diffuse white beam, several diffuse submarginal spots,
and a light suffusion of glittering greenish scales at base. As compared
to P. damocles, wings more narrow, angle formed by fore wing outer and
hind margin blunt, glittering of male wing upperside more dull.
GEOGRAPHCAL VARIATION: ssp. damone is found in S Ural. The mountains of
S Siberia and Mongolia are inhabited by the subspecies altaica Elwes,
1899 (= sibirica Staudinger, 1899, nom. praeocc., nec Lycaena optilete
sibirica Staudingerm 1892), differing by a widened suffusion of
glittering scales and always a well expressed white beam on hind wing
underside. For S Tuva a smaller ssp. walteri Dantchenko et Lukhtanov,
1993, differing by a lighter ground colour and the most developed
glittering basal suffusion on hind wing underside.
422. Polyommatus damocles (Herrich-Schaffer, 1844)
TYPE LOCALITY: S Ural: Guberli, by the neotypus (Dantchenko, Lukhtanov,
1993).
RANGE: SE Europe (the Saratov and Ulyanovsk Regions), S Ural (Bashkiria
and Orenburg Region).
HABITAT: Steppefied slopes.
FLIGHT PERIOD: late June/late July.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 15-16 mm. Wing wider than in P.
damone; angle formed by fore wing outer and hind margin close to
right, glittering of male wing upperside very bright.
SYSTEMATIC NOTE: Noteworthy that the specimens corresponding to P.
damone proper are found not far from the type locality of P. damocles.
- Polyommatus bellargus (Rottemburg, 1775)
TYPE SPECIES: W Germany.
RANGE: Europe (ecept for the North and North-East). Reliably known for
the Volga Basin, once has been reported for Orenburg (Vorontsovskii,
1906).
HABITAT: meadow patches, southern lime-stone slopes of river valleys.
FLIGHT PERIOD: May/June and July/August, in tow broods.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: Coronilla varia; reported are also
Genista, Trifolium. Eggs: light-green. Larva: at first dark-green with
black spots, later become dark or pale-brown, it has a dark dorsal line
accompanied with a row of triangular orange spots, interrupted yellow
spiracular line; head and thoracic legs black. The larva keeps to leaf
underside, hibernates. Pupa: green or brownish, with a darker dorsal
side; it is found on the ground or litter.
423. Polyommatus coridon (Poda, 1761).
TYPE LOCALITY: Austria: Harz.
RANGE: Europe (except for the North), Anterior Asia, S Ural, S
Zauralye (the village Sosnovka). A local species.
HABITAT: dry forest-steppen meadows, lime-stone outcrops in river
valleys and on mountain slopes.
FLIGHT PERIOD: July/middle August.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Europe. Foodplants: Astragalus, Coronilla
varia, Hippocrepis, Vicia, and other Fabaceae. Eggs: greenish-white.
Larva: bright, green or blueish-green (the ventral side being lighter)
with a dark line along back which is accompanied by sides by chains of
yellow spots, another one row of dull yellowish spots goes along legs
and prolegs on either side; body covered with small warts bearing
reddish hairs; head is glossy black with a transversal grey stroke above
mouth. The larva hides at daytime and is visited by ants of the genus
Formica. Pupa: slender, muddy-ochre-coloured with a dark line along back
and light brands on wing cases; it lies freely on the ground or under
gravel.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 15-17 mm. In males wing upperside
glittering silvery-blue with rather a wide (about 2 mm) dark outer
border, in females dark-brown with obscure submarginal red spots on hind
wing; pattern of hind wing underside contrasted, it consists of black
spots with white rims, discal spot being white, and triangular orange
spots at outer margin.
GEOGRAPHCAL VARIATION: S Ural is probably inhabited by the subspecies
jahontovi Wnukowsky, 1934.
424. Polyommatus cyane (Eversmann, 1837).
TYPE LOCALITY: the Orenburg Province: Guberli (Suschkin, 1909).
RANGE: Povolzhye (the city Samara), the south of West (many localities)
and Middle (the Krasnoyarsk surroundings, the Stolby nature reserve)
Siberia , Altai, the West Sayan, the southern Pribaikalye (the Temnik
River), the Prilenskoe Plateau (the surroundings of Yakutsk), the
mountains of E Kazakhstan and C. Asia. In 1995 was found by O. Kosterin
in SE Zabaikalye (the hill Teli on the isthmus between tyhe Torei Lakes,
the village Verkhnii Tsasuchei). A local species.
HABITAT: dry rocky slopes, often with bushes, steppefied meadows on
river terraces, open larch woods. The imagines keep to the
inflorecences of Goniolimon speciosum, less frequently feed on the
flowers of Leucanthemum vulgare etc. or rest on Spiraea bushes.
FLIGHT PERIOD: early June/late July, depending on the locality.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplant: Goniolimon speciosum (Plumbaginaceae).
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 13-17 mm (rarely 10 mm). In males wing
upperside glittering blue; in females brown with a suffusion of
glittering blue scales, light spots at fore wing outer margin and orange
ones at hind wing outer margin. Pattern of hind wing underside
contrasted, consisting of black spots on a whitish background and, at
outer margin, a row of bright-orange spots reducing in size from anal
angle to costa.
GEOGRAPHCAL VARIATION: The subspecies kozhantschikovi Sheljuzhko, 1928,
described from Minusinsk, ranges in the mountains of S Siberia, a small
form deserticola Elwes, 1899 had been described from the surroundings of
Kosh-Agach (SE [Russian] Altai), ssp. tarbagata Suschkin, 1909 - from
the Tarbagatai Mts. (SE Kazakhstan).
SYSTEMATIC NOTES: Recently the subgenus Glabroculus Lvovsky, 1993
(Zoosyst. Rossica, vol. 2: 175-176) was stated for P. cyane
425. Polyommatus coelestinus (Eversmann, 1843).
TYPE LOCALITY: the piedmonts of S Ural.
RANGE: S and SE Europe, Anterior Asia, S Ural (the Sakmara River basin),
and occasional findings in Zauralye (at the town Troitsk and the
villages Bredy and Bugul'chan). A local species.
HABITAT: steppes on southern slopes.
FLIGHT PERIOD: middle May/middle June.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in S Europe. Foodplants: Anthillis
vulneraria; for the Volga basin and S Ural also reported were the
legumes Melilotus and Trifolium.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 12-14 mm. Wing upperside blue with a
narrow (about 0.5 mm) dark outer border in males and brown in females;
pattern of hind wing underside consists of an evenly corved row of black
postdiscal spots, orange submarginal spots are either present or absent;
suffusion of glittering scales occupies basal half of the wing.
426. Polyommatus daphnis (Denis et Schiffermuller, 1775)
(= meleager Esper, 1779).
TYPE LOCALITY: Vienna.
RANGE: S Europe, Anterior Asia, S Ural and A Zauralye [Transuralia].
HABITAT: steppefied meadows at wood edges, bushes, wind-breaking
stripes.
FLIGHT PERIOD: prolonged, middle June/August.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: Astragalus, reported also other Fabaceae
(Coronilla, Lathyrus) and Thymus (Lamiaceae). Hibernation occurs at the
ovum stage. Larva: green with yellowish swellings and black spiracles.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 11-18 mm. Wing upperside blue with a
narrow (about 0.5 mm) dark outer border in males and brown in females;
hind wing outer margin wavy at anal angle; the hind wing underside
pattern consists of dull dark white-rimmed spots.
GEOGRAPHCAL VARIATION: The butterflies from S Ural can be attributed to
ssp. boricus Fruhstorfer, 1910, isolated on the basis of absence of the
females of main, blue, form.
427. Polyommatus icarus (Rottemburg, 1775).
TYPE LOCALITY: Germany: Berlin.
RANGE: The non-tropical Eurasia, northwards (in the Ob' River basin) to
the forest-tundra, the Sakhalin.
HABITAT: various meadows, settlements, in the mountains and in the taiga
belt the species occur mostly in river valleys or at human dwellings.
FLIGHT PERIOD: mainly in two broods, late May/Autumn, in Polar Ural the
imagines of the only brood were observed in late July/early August. From
Primorye this species is known us by July specimens only.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: studied in Europe. Foodplants: Fabaceae (Trifolium,
Medicago, Melilotus, Ononis, Genista, Lotus), and also Fragaria vesca or
some other herbs. Eggs: pale-reddish-brown or light-greenish; laid on
the foodplant leaf upperside. Larva: light-green with a dark whitish-
rimmed back line and dark slanting streaks on sides (the latters may be
not expressed), and yellowish or whitish wavy or interrupted lines
beneath spiracles; body set with fine short light hairs; head is black;
on the seventh segment there is a gland for attracting ants. Among the
larvae cases of cannibalism are known. The larva is able of hibernation.
Pupa: glossy dark-greenish-brown with a dark dorsal line and yellow
spiracles; lies on the ground.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 13-19 mm. In males wing upperside
violet, in females brown, sometimes with strong suffusion of blue
scales, with orange submarginal lunules. On fore wing underside cell
usually contains a black spot (or two or three spots); on hind wing
underside the second (from the costa) black spot of postdiscal row
shifted to costa from the first spot of submarginal row. Similar
species: P. thersites.
GEOGRAPHCAL VARIATION: From the West Siberian Lowland the subspecies
fuchsi Sheljuzhko, 1928 has been described, from Central Yakutia - the
subspecies ammosovi Kurenzov, 1970. Two subspecies from the territory
considered were described in (Korshunov & Gorbunov, 1995). The original
descriptions are given below:
Polyommatus icarus korshunovi P. Gorbunov, 1995
Original description:
"In the populations of S Siberia the appearance of
butterflies is very diverse. However, in arid regions
in average smaller individuals, with somewhat narrower wings, a
whitish wing underside ground colour in males and greyish in
females, evidently predominate. The orange submarginal spots in
them are smaller than in the butterflies from more northern
regions and are isolated from each other. The females have or
have not red small submarginal lunules on the wing upperside,
which is often substantially suffused with blue scales. Based on
these characters we state a subspecies Polyommatus icarus
korshunovi P. Gorbunov, sbsp.n.
MATERIALS: The holotype: a male - 26.05.1990, Tuva, the Erzin
River valley (V.V. Dubatolov). Paratypes: a male - the same
locality; 2 females - 27.07.1972, Tuva, Toora-Khem (Yu.P.
Korshunov); a female - 19.08.1962, Tuva, the Tes[-Khem] River
(L. Violovich); a fenale and male - 17.06.1963, the same
locality; 2 males - 18.06, 1987, Tuva, the Toszha District, Lake
Azas, (V. Zinchenko); a male - 1-5.05.1993, Tuva, the Kyzyl city
environs (D. Logunov); 2 males - Tuva, the Shivilig-Khem River,
a bushy steppe (O. Kosterin); 3 males - 21.06.1907, SE Altai,
the Chuiskaya Steppe, Kosh-Agach; a female - 13.07.1097, the
Chuiskii Tract road, the Kuraiskaya Steppe [a collector is
dropped - it was E.G. Rodd] ; a female - 19.07.1966, SE ALtai,
between the mountain Supor and the Chuiskaya Steppe, 2000-2400 m
[above the sea level]."
Polyommatus icarus omelkoi Dubatolov et Korshunov, 1995
Original description.
"Butterflies from the southern Far East differ from the
Siberian ones by in average larger size (f.w.l. being 17-19 mm
in males, 16.5-18 mm), reduction of the basal suffusion with
glittering scales on the hind wing underside, which usually does
not extend out of the row of basal spots, enlarged black
dots on the wing underside, and a lighter (whitish) wing
underside ground colour in males. By these characters we state a
subspecies Polyommatus icarus omelkoi Dubatolov et Korshunov,
sbsp.n.
MATERIALS: The holotype: a male - 17.07.1993, Primorie, the
Anuchinskii District, 14 km north of Chernyshevka (V.V.
Dubatolov, V.K. Zinchenko). Paratypes: 2 males 2 females -
15.07.1993, the same locality; 1 male - 18.07.1993, 20 km NNW of
Chernyshevka, Kamenistyi Klyuch, a road in a montane broad-
leaved forest; 4 males - 11 and 13.07.1981, 21.07.1982,
11.07.1985, N Korea (Im Khon An).
The subspeceis is named after the surname of Omel'ko, Michail
Michailovich, a lepidopterologist at the Ussuriiskii
Reservation, an explorer of the life history of a number of
butterfly species of S Primorie."
superspecies eros
F.w.l.: 13-17 mm. Wing upperside is glittering blue or greenish-still,
with a dark outer border about 0.5-1.5 mm wide, in males and brown in
females; on fore wing underside cell usually contains a black spot;
along outer margin of hind wing underside in both sexes there is a full
row of orange spots of even size.
428. Polyommatus (eros) tsvetaevi (Kurenzov, 1970).
TYPE LOCALITY: Primorye: the Suputinka River.
RANGE: S Primorye, N Korea.
HABITAT: meadows of river terraces and mountain valleys.
FLIGHT PERIOD: in two broods, in June and middle July/late September.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 14-16 mm. In males wing upperside
lacks a greenish tint, outer border about 0.5-1 mm wide; in females wing
upperside brown with large orange submarginal lunules on both wings and
without suffusion of blue scales; on wing underside orange submarginal
spots larger than in other species of this group; on hind wing they are
usually fused into a contiguous band, always well expressed on fore
wing.
ETYMOLOGY: Anatoliy Vasilievich Tsvetaev (1903-1980) - an ingeneer at
the factory "Nature and School", the biggest Soviet butterfly
collectionist (the collection is now preserved in the Zoological Museum
of the Moscow State University).
429. Polyommatus (eros) kamtschadalus (Sheljuzhko, 1933)
(= eros auct. non Ochsenheimer, 1808).
TYPE LOCALITY: Kamchatka.
RANGE: Polar Ural, the mountains of the norther of Middle and East
Siberia and the Far East, Kamchatka. A local species.
HABITAT: montane meadows at the tree line in river and brook valleys,
pebble banks, felled areas. In the Polar Ural the butterflies
concentrated on sunny areas of railway embankments, in the Koni
Peninsula (the Magadan Region) on flowery slopes of coastal terraces.
FLIGHT PERIOD: July.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: According to observations by P.Yu.Gorbunov in
Polar Ural, the foodplants are Hedysarum sibiricum and Oxytropis sordida
Eggs: small, green, button-shaped with a depression in centre; laid
singly on the foodplant leaf underside. Young larva: green with a black
head, set with whitish hairs emerging from small black warts. It gnaws
out small stripes from the middle of a leaf and eats flowers.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 13-14 mm. In males wing upperside
lacks a greenish tint, outer border about 0.5-1 mm wide; in females fore
wing usually to some extent suffused with blueish scales, whitish or
orange submarginal lunules present on hind wing upperside; in both sexes
on wing underside there is a suffusion of glittering scales at base and
along anal margin. Similar species: P. erotides, P. boisduvali.
GEOGRAPHCAL VARIATION: The nominotypical subspecies inhabits Kamchatka;
the subspecies extremiorientalis Kurenzov, 1970 has been stated for
Verkhoyan'ye and the Kolyma River basin; the subspecies taimyrensis
Korshunov, 1982, close to the former, was described from the Taymyr
Peninsula and inhabits also Polar Ural. In the Vitim River basin "north
of 56 degrees of northern latitude" there ranges ssp. herzi Korshunov,
1995, pro venus Herz., 1898, nec Polyommatus venus Staudinger, 1886.
430. Polyommatus (eros) boisduvalli (Herrich-Schaffer, 1844)
(= eroides auct. non Frivaldsky, 1835).
TYPE LOCALITY: S Russia.
RANGE: SE Europe, S Ural, the southern West and Central Siberia, Altai,
the Angara River basin. A local species.
HABITAT: meadow patches in birch groves, pine woods, in river and brook
valleys, on mountain slopes.
FLIGHT PERIOD: middle June/late July.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: Astragalus.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 14-16 mm. In males wing upperside
blue with a violet tint and lacking a greenish tint, outer border about
1-1.5 mm wide; in females wing upperside brown, fore wing lacks a
suffusion with blueish scales, orange submarginal lunules present on
hind wing; in both sexes basal suffusion of wing underside by glittering
scales very weak, submarginal orange spots larger than in P. erotides
and P. kamtschadalus.
ETYMOLOGY: J.B.A. Boisduvall (1801-1879) - a famous French
lepidopterologist, a custodian of the Entomology Cabinet of the earl
Deganet, a doctor.
431. Polyommatus (eros) erotides (Staudinger, 1892) (= eros auct.)
TYPE LOCALITY: Zabaikalye: the Malakhanskiy mountain range: the
setlement Kudara-Somon.
RANGE: The mountains of S Siberia (Central and SE Altai
being inhabited by this species while North Altai - by the previous
one), Zabaikalye, Mongolia.
HABITAT: steppefied meadows and steppes on rocky south-exposed slopes
and in montane river and brook valleys, up to the highlands.
FLIGHT PERIOD: in two broods, in late May/June and middle
July/September; in highlands the single brood is observed in July.
PREIMAGINAL PHASES: Foodplants: Fabaceae.
PECULIAR TRAITS OF IMAGO: F.w.l.: 14-15 mm. In males wing upperside of a
silvery-greenish tint, outer border being 1 mm wide; in females fore
wing lack a suffusion of blueish scales, row of whitish or orange
submarginal lunules present on the hind wing; in both sexes on wing
underside basal suffusion of glittering scales very weakl less expressed
than in P. kamtschadalus, submarginal orange lunules smaller than in P.
boisduvali.
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