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Field Notes

Vaud, Switzerland, July 2006

Vaud, Switzerland, July 2006

Vaud, Switzerland, July 2006

Vaud, Switzerland, July 2006

Vaud, Switzerland, July 2006

Valais, Switzerland, August 2005

Valais, Switzerland, August 2005

Valais, Switzerland, August 2005

Valais, Switzerland, July 2005

Valais, Switzerland, August 2004

Valais, Switzerland, August 2004

Valais, Switzerland, August 2004

Valais, Switzerland, August 2004

Valais, Switzerland, August 2004

Piedmont, Italy, July 2004

Valais, Switzerland, August 2004

Piedmont, Italy, June 2003

Provence, France, July 2003

Valais, Switzerland, August 2003

Grisons, Switzerland, July 2003

This is a widespread and common species in the southern Valleys and mountains of Switzerland. It extends across Austria and south to the Alpes Maritimes in France. It is almost impossibly similar to the Sudeten Ringlet, E. sudetica, who's range overlaps in only a small area around Grindelwald in Switzerland and La Chaine de la Belledonne in France. I've read that the butterflies are actually mutually exclusive at any given site but quite why such a common butterfly as melampus should pause mid-range for sudetica to get a foot hold I don't understand.

It is very similar to several other species of similar size (i.e. small) too. The key to most is the presence of black spots in the orange markings on both surfaces of both wings. Only sudetica has that. In that species the underside hindwing orange spots are regular in size and are usually present in spaces 1 and 6. In melampus these spots vary in size relative to one another and are usually but by no means always absent from spaces 1 and 6.

It flies from very low levels for an Erebia, below 1000m, to high altitudes of 2400m. It likes meadows with plenty of flowers and grasses often amongst trees at lower levels.

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