David Element
Wildlife Photography and Digital Video Images
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Butterflies 59 – Lesser Mountain Ringlets
LESSER MOUNTAIN RINGLET BUTTERFLY Erebia melampus
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The Lesser Mountain Ringlet Butterfly Erebia melampus
belongs to a large and sometimes confusing genus of montane butterflies, many
of which appear to be remarkably similar until their markings are examined
closely. In the case of this species (in which the black ocelli are usually
‘blind’ – i.e. lacking white ‘pupils’) the size and shape of the largest oval
orange spot on the hindwing is the key identification feature. Over time genetically
isolated populations of progenitor Erebia
species will have evolved to form subspecies or fully distinct species to suit
their specific habitats and for those with an interest, this scientific paper
entitled ‘Adaptive
radiations in butterflies: evolutionary history of the genus Erebia (Nymphalidae: Satyrinae)’ Carlos
Pena, Heike Witthauer, Irena Kleckova,
Zdenek Fric and Niklas Wahlberg, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2015, 116, 449–467 (accessible
by using this extremely lengthy hyperlink!) will provide an in-depth hypothesis
of how the genus may have evolved: https://watermark.silverchair.com/bij12597.pdf?token=AQECAHi208BE49Ooan9kkhW_Ercy7Dm3ZL_9Cf3qfKAc485ysgAAAqswggKnBgkqhkiG9w0BBwagggKYMIIClAIBADCCAo0GCSqGSIb3DQEHATAeBglghkgBZQMEAS4wEQQMjehDzMfnZviqJ8BfAgEQgIICXnUQ8Uw-tes3vc7NdX8100KlMC-XolDkmN3bgVuxV8KiCvOZi7iJ-NW0ZbEnuGHhGISTp8RbImG80xGB8H5uIc2hF9uMDkbxfr6egnQsLvZ-kmXs9mkSxZzxNvSSRgXJKgfKSNwEx1eCv6Xb1UerUJ5qBbtjBXmV4u__M2ZNOfL-LpfdFbRlkOeTuiNprI0eViyxfaCqhJxJUSMypvGX3iZDt8c6njSTwFLpp0gLElgNKkOR9nh9jmd966fGEUw2etAbkqp9DS6t4MM2PoSL72EfY7Y1tebZgM-0CsQuxn9CWlz7WMqdyc81NwEZcJYTWfI7GANW5jVn7QS6RcAbiq6Fv6y8XXLHTpTAWm1WjTVPNk-R4U_niPZMjBS8411ZpfE-oYGYpDfv9kR7RRsfnHZ2M-ybh5cr6zv1iSFcAs-3kHijNzyM7Ttrt2NSERcdek3oSaoCZ4t4UAZ98xpQtVWPREfvC6wKzcJvUoSOMPyIsjfgdSn04_qeoGR-_9VpghOgGheshHXT9HJwydoqrTgdfg3-9THgXAXLLqN2RQ6cBOlzQGsTHypJiTXh66UuwZy8iiHizfN5Ppg5ytWVJIt-MwZJD2AzDPUSOUYMm6ARL0Tt9UPwjiM9rXwq1pUxRZ44kGjBdXB_8bCZQT2zVst0Ju_BuNY8_rxTeYTbXm--G5XSaEMfph5gY_u7wJD0an4OmcsTkYRH8zd8yZIgCs7_1-KxA6nNInlnXqkSKf7KCwIvyJOnyenp-rZI_oDcaAsYJPginjven-voVDKzV4xgdSd_U2Zvv7eGkeUfUQ.
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2, 3,
4, 5,
6, 7,
8, 9,
10, 11,
12, 13,
14, 15,
16, 17,
18, 19,
20, 21,
22, 23,
24, 25,
26, 27,
28, 29,
30, 31,
32, 33,
34, 35, 36,
37, 38,
39, 40,
41, 42,
43, 44,
45, 46,
47, 48,
49, 50,
51, 52,
53, 54,
55, 56,
57, 58,
59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66,
67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83,
84,
85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100
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