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Red-disked Alpine - Erebia discoidalis
General Description
[From Ferris and Brown 1981; Scott 1986; Opler and Wright 1999; Glassberg 2001] Forewing 2.1-2.5 cm. Wings brownish black, lack eyespots. Forewing with large chestnut red patch both above and below; undersurface of hindwing mottled gray and brown, the outer 1/3 frosted gray.
Phenology
One flight; mid-May to mid-June in the south, June to mid-July in the Arctic (Scott 1986). April to August but mainly May to early June (Glassberg 2001). Early May to mid-June in the north central states (Masters 1970); May to June in British Columbia (Guppy and Shepard 2001).
Diagnostic Characteristics
Best determined by combination of large chestnut-red patch on both surfaces of forewing, the absence of eyespots, the undersurface of hindwing with the outer 1/3 frosted gray.
Species Range
Montana Range
Range Descriptions
Native
Range Comments
Holarctic. In North America south of treeline from Alaska to southern Quebec, south to southern Alberta, northern Montana, northen North Dakota, northern Wisconsin and northern Michigan (Masters 1970; Scott 1986; Opler and Wright 1999; Glassberg 2001). In Montana, documented only in Glacier County just east of Glacier National Park (Kohler 1980; Ferris and Brown 1981; Stanford and Opler 1993); possibly inhabits isolated fens similar to habitat used farther east. Rare to locally uncommon (Glassberg 2001).
Migration
Non-migratory.
Habitat
Taiga, open dry grassland, open woodland, dry and wet meadows, muskeg, fens, open Sphagnum bogs, alpine tundra (Ehrlich 1956; Huber 1965; Masters 1970; Nekola 1998; Opler and Wright 1999; Guppy and Shepard 2001); western populations appear to favor drier open-grassy habitats, eastern populations often in open Sphagnum bogs.
National Vegetation Classification System Groups Associated with this Species
Grassland
Montane - Subalpine Grassland
Wetland and Riparian
Alkaline - Saline Wetlands
Alpine Riparian and Wetland
Peatland
Wet Meadow and Marsh
Food Habits
Limited information. Larval food plants include several species of Poa, possibly Carex (Scott 1986; Opler and Wright 1999; Acorn and Sheldon 2006). Adults rarely reported feeding on flower nectar, but suburban Taraxacum visited in Alberta (Masters 1970; Acorn 1993).
Reproductive Characteristics
Limited information. Apparently overwinters (hibernates) as L4 larval instar, mature larvae spin thin cocoon before pupating (Scott 1979, 1986; Guppy and Shepard 2001). Males non-territorial, patrol along margins of openings near trees in early morning or late afternoon in search of passing females (Masters 1970; Nekola 1998).
Stewardship Responsibility
References
- Literature Cited AboveLegend:
View Online Publication
Acorn, J. 1993. Butterflies of Alberta. Edmonton, Alberta. Lone Pine Publishing. pp.143- Acorn, J. and I. Sheldon. 2006. Butterflies of British Columbia. Edmonton, Alberta. Lone Pine Publishing. pp.360
- Ehrlich, P.R. 1956. Ecological observations on Erebia (Lepidoptera: Satyridae) on northwestern America. Entomological News 67: 29-36.
- Ferris, C.D. and F.M. Brown (eds). 1981. Butterflies of the Rocky Mountains. Univ. of Oklahoma Press. Norman. 442 pp.
- Glassberg, J. 2001. Butterflies through Binoculars: A Field Guide to the Butterflies of Western North America. Oxford University Press.
- Guppy, C.S. and J.H. Shepard. 2001. Butterflies of British Columbia: including western Alberta, southern Yukon, the Alaska Panhandle, Washington, northern Oregon, northern Idaho, northwestern Montana. UBC Press (Vancouver, BC) and Royal British Columbia Museum (Victoria, BC). 414 pp.
- Huber, R.L. 1965. Probable second U.S. record for Erebia discoidalis. Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 19(2): 76.
- Kohler, S. 1980. Checklist of Montana Butterflies (Rhopalocera). Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 34(1): 1-19.
- Masters, J.H. 1970. Ecological and distributional notes on Erebia discoidalis (Satyridae) in the north central states. Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera 9: 11-16.
- Nekola, J.C. 1998. Butterfly (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae, Nymphalidae, and Satyridae) faunas of three peatland habitat types in the Lake Superior drainage basin of Wisconsin. Great Lakes Entomologist 31(1): 27-38.
- Opler, P.A. and A.B. Wright. 1999. A field guide to western butterflies. Second edition. Peterson Field Guides. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. 540 pp.
- Scott, J.A. 1979. Hibernal diapause of North American Papilionoidea and Hesperioidea. Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera 18(3): 171-200.
- Scott, J.A. 1986. The butterflies of North America: a natural history and field guide. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California.
- Stanford, R.E. and P.A. Opler. 1993. Atlas of western USA butterflies: including adjacent parts of Canada and Mexico. Unpubl. Report. Denver and Fort Collins, Colorado 275 pp.
- Additional ReferencesLegend: View Online Publication
Do you know of a citation we're missing?- Allen, T.J., J.P. Brock, and J. Glassberg. 2005. Caterpillars in the field and garden: a field guide to the butterfly caterpillars of North America. Oxford University Press.
- Brock, J.P. and K. Kaufman. 2003. Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, New York, NY 284 pp.
- Forister, M.L., E.M. Grames, C.A. Halsch, K.J. Burls, C.F. Carroll, K.L. Bell, J.P. Jahner, et al. 2023. Assessing risk for butterflies in the context of climate change, demographic uncertainty, and heterogeneous data sources. Ecological Monographs 93(3):e1584. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecm.1584
- Layberry, R.A., P.W. Hall, and J.D. LaFontaine. 1998. The Butterflies of Canada. University of Toronto Press. 280 pp. + color plates.
- Web Search Engines for Articles on "Red-disked Alpine"
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