LEPIDOPTERA

• N Y M P H A L I D A E Swainson, 1827

  • CLOSSIANA Reuss, 1920

    
    

    • Clossiana tritonia (Boeber, 1812)

Clossiana tritonia (Boeber, 1812)

• TYPE LOCALITY. «Siberia» [Lake Baikal, Irkutsk Region, Russia].

• RANGE. From Lake Baikal to the Ussuri region.

• DISTRIBUTION AND VARIATION. The Baikal region is inhabited by the nominotypical subspecies; in Transbaikalia, the ssp. elatus (Staudinger, 1892) is known to occur; the Amur and Ussuri regions are populated by the ssp. amphiLochiis (Menetries, 1859). The latter taxon is characterised by the darker ground colour of the UPS in both sexes and by the monotonous yellow discal band of the UNH. As the genitalia are also somewhat different, amphilochus can prove to represent a distinct species.

• HABITATS AND BIOLOGY. Steppe-clad slopes, rocky habitats near crests up to 1,500 m a.S.I. Flight period: June to July. Host plant (Graeser, 1888): Saxifraga bronchialis.

• SIMILAR SPECIES. Clossiana distincta: smaller; discal band of UNH with bright silvery spots. C. erda: smaller; FW rounded, not sharpened apically.

Photo and text: Guide to the BUTTERFLIES OF RUSSIA and adjacent territories Volume 2. PENSOFT, Sofia - Moscow. 2000