Silvery argus | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Lepidoptera |
Family: | Lycaenidae |
Genus: | Aricia |
Species: | A. nicias |
Binomial name | |
Aricia nicias Meigen, 1830 | |
Synonyms | |
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Aricia nicias, the silvery argus, [1] is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in the Alps, Pyrenees and from Scandinavia ranging to Siberia and the north of Mongolia.
The wingspan is 25–28 mm. The butterfly flies from May to August depending on the location.
The larvae feed on Geranium species.
L. donzelii Bdv. (80 b). Scarcely so large as the smallest eumedon . Above black-brown with dark discocellular spot and grey-brown fringes; in the male the upperside dusted with metallic blue-green, with the exception of a very broad marginal area, which remains black. Underside grey, the ocelli being but little prominent, on the hindwing almost obsolescent; from the base of the hindwing to near the centre of the outer margin a wedge-shaped white streak. In the high Alps and in the north of Europe, as well as in some of the Asiatic mountain-ranges (Ural, Tian-shan). — Specimens from East Russia (Kasan) are smaller, with narrower border, above more greenish and beneath with a very feebly developed reddish yellow band; this is septentrionalis Krulik. — Egg flattened, pure white, deposited on Geranium in July. The larva emerges early in the spring and feeds in the stalks and buds; full-grown pale olive-green, covered with short, whitish silky hair, on the sides three stripes darker than the ground and on the back a stripe yet darker than these; the lower side-stripes are so arranged that the lowest of one segment is a continuation of the next higher of the preceding segments; the sides reddish at the stigmata, white at the outer edge. Pupa pale olive-green with dark dorsal stripe, the wing-cases very transparent, bearing a minute reddish network and small thin white hairs; fastened low down at the stalks of Geranium (Mc Dunnough). The butterflies are on the wing in July and August, and very closely resemble L. eumedon in their habits of flight, feeding, etc., but are far less plentiful. They occur only singly, usually resting quietly on a high- grown flower of Geranium; when disturbed they settle again after a short while on the same or a neighbouring blossom. Also this species is met with only in single specimens among the crowds of Alpine Blues drinking at puddles, and generally only at a considerable altitude (Stilfser Joch, Zermatt, Simplon, Maloya, etc.) [2]
The meadow brown is a butterfly found in the Palearctic realm. Its range includes Europe south of 62°N, Russia eastwards to the Urals, Asia Minor, Iraq, Iran, North Africa and the Canary Islands. The larvae feed on grasses.
Aricia agestis, the brown argus, is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found throughout the Palearctic realm, north to northern Jutland (Denmark) and east to Siberia and the Tian Shan.
The angle shades is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. It is distributed throughout Europe as far east as the Urals and also in the Azores, in Algeria, and in Asia Minor, Armenia, and Syria. It is strongly migratory.
The marbled minor is a moth of the family Noctuidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. It is distributed throughout Europe, east through the Palearctic to central Asia and the Altai Mountains. It rises to heights of over 1500 meters in the Alps.
The purple-shot copper is a butterfly in the family of the Lycaenidae or copper butterflies and in the genus of the Lycaena.
Apatura ilia, the lesser purple emperor, is a species of butterfly native to most of Europe and east across the Palearctic. It is named for its similarity to the purple emperor butterfly.
The scarce copper is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae.
Lasiommata megera, the wall or wall brown, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is widespread in the Palearctic realm with a large variety of habitats and number of generations a year.
Orthosia incerta, the clouded drab, is a species of moth of the family Noctuidae, found in Europe and Asia. The occurrence of the species extends through all European countries through the Palearctic to the Russian Far East and Japan. It is absent from northern Fennoscandia and in the Alps it occurs up to 2000 m above sea level.
Coenonympha arcania, the pearly heath, is a butterfly species belonging to the family Nymphalidae.
Setina irrorella, the dew moth, is a moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. It is found in the Palearctic from Ireland, then through Europe and east to northern and central Asia to the Pacific Ocean. It is missing in the high north and parts of the Mediterranean region. It is found also in the limestone Alps up to 2,000 meters above sea level.
Glaucopsyche alexis, the green-underside blue, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in the Palearctic.
Lycaena tityrus, the sooty copper, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in Europe.
Eumedonia eumedon, the geranium argus, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in the Palearctic realm. This butterfly has been included in the genera Plebejus, Plebeius, Polyommatus and Aricia, but recent molecular studies have demonstrated that Eumedonia is a valid genus, different from the previous genera mentioned.
Agriades optilete, the cranberry blue, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in north eastern Europe, the Alps, North Asia, Japan, Korea and north western North America.
Chazara briseis, the hermit, is a butterfly species belonging to the family Nymphalidae. It can be found in North Africa, southern Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus, Kazakhstan, Central Asia through Afghanistan, and north-western China and Tuva. It is found on steppe and in other dry grassy places between 500 and 2,500 meters.
Agrochola helvola, the flounced chestnut, is a moth of the family Noctuidae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. The species is found in most of Europe, north to Scotland and Fennoscandia up to the Arctic Circle, south to Spain, Sicily, Greece further east to the Middle East, Armenia, Asia Minor, western Turkestan and central Asia up to central Siberia.
Polyommatus dolus, the furry blue, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in Spain, in France and Italy.
Eublemma parva, the small marbled, is a moth of the family Erebidae. The species was first described by Jacob Hübner in 1808.
Eriopygodes imbecilla, the Silurian, is a moth of the family Noctuidae first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1794.