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Aricia artaxerxes

Mountain Argus

Field Notes

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Valais, Switzerland, October 2010

Males

 

Valais, Switzerland, October 2010

Females

 

Valais, Switzerland, June 2009

 

Valais, Switzerland, May 2008

 

Valais, Switzerland, August 2007

 

Middle Atlas, Morocco, June 2005

ssp montensis

 

Middle Atlas, Morocco, June 2005

ssp montensis

 

Valais, Switzerland, July 2006

 

Valais, Switzerland, June 2006

 

Vaud, Switzerland, July 2006

 

Middle Atlas, Morocco, June 2005

 

Middle Atlas, Morocco, June 2005

 

Middle Atlas, Morocco, June 2005

 

Valais, Switzerland, July 2004

 

Valais, Switzerland, July 2004

 

Valais, Switzerland, August 2004

 

Valais, Switzerland, July 2004

 

Valais, Switzerland, July 2004

More orange on upperside than most but still not
enough for Brown Argus, A. agestis.

 

Macedonia, Greece, July 2000

 

Slovensky Kras, Slovakia, July 2001
 

Slovensky Kras, Slovakia, July 2001

with agestis on the right
 

Slovensky Kras, Slovakia, July 2001

 

This butterfly is found mostly in the mountains of Europe. In the UK there is hot debate as to it's true existence as a unique species. Here it does not overlap with the very similar Brown Argus, A. agestis and subtle differences are attributed to the fact that artaxerxes has just one brood a year and agestis two. Elsewhere in Europe this doesn't seem to be much of a debate. Infact, one photograph above shows two very different butterflies together - one artaxerxes, one agestis.

The a main difference is the extent of orange on the uppersides. In artaxerxes this is greatly reduced or absent, in agestis it is extensive and usually reaches close to the apex.

In S Spain and Morocco, the subspecies montensis flies. It has more orange on the upperside than the other subspecies of this butterfly but is easily distinguished from the agestis crameri with which it flies by the very extensive orange on the upperside of that butterfly. Additionally, montensis has a grey underside, crameri by contrast is usually very brown.

 

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