LEPIDOPTERA

• H E S P E R I I D A E Latreille, 1809

  • PYRGUS Hubner, [1819]

    
    

    • Pyrgus sidae (Esper, [1784])

Pyrgus sidae (Esper, [1784])

• RANGE. From S. Europe across Asia Minor to Iran and Afghanistan.

• DISTRIBUTION AND VARIATION. The S. European part eastwards to S. Urals, the Caucasus (including Transcaucasia), Kopet-Dagh, Alai, Darvaz, W. Tian-Shan. Variable in size and white pattern. The nominate subspecies occurs over most of the distribution range, while the ssp. evansi Albert!, 1957 has been described from Kopet-Dagh.

• HABITATS AND BIOLOGY. Inhabits warm, dry, grassy places, sunny slopes up to 2,000 m a.s.l. Flight period: May-July in a single generation depending on the altitude. Host plants (de Jong, 1972; Higgins, Riley, 1980): PotentUla (P. pedata and some others), Malvaceae (Abutilon avicennae). Hibernation larval.

Photo and text: Guide to the BUTTERFLIES OF RUSSIA and adjacent territories Volume 1. PENSOFT, Sofia - Moscow. 1997