Lycaenidae : Polyommatinae
Northern Brown Argus
ARICIA artaxerxes (Fabricius, 1793)
Subspecies
A. a.antaxerces (Fabricius, 1793) - Scotland : having white spot on forewing
Northern Brown Argus
ARICIA artaxerxes (Fabricius, 1793)
Subspecies
A. a.antaxerces (Fabricius, 1793) - Scotland : having white spot on forewing
Life Cycle Guide
Description
Alternative Name: Mountain Argus A. a. antaxerxes : Brown Whitespot : Castle Eden Argus A.a.salmacis
Wingspan: 25-31mm
Worldwide Distribution: Scandinavia : Mountainous area of Central Europe : North Africa
UK Distribution: Scotland A. a. antaxerxes : Northern England A. a. salmacis
UK Conservation Status -
Flight Period: Mid June-Late July-depending on location
Habitat: Coastal cliffs : South facing slopes on short grass on limestone/calcareous soils
Ovum: The egg is deposited on the upperside of the leaf of Common Rock-rose making it conspicuous and easy to find in sunshine.
Larva: The young larva upon hatching moves to the underside of the leaf to feed on the soft tissue leaving transparent windows making the caterpillar easier to spot.
They move to the base of the plant to hibernate before continuing to feed the following spring with ants in attendance.
Pupa: The chrysalis also attracts ants by sound like its cousin the Brown Argus.
Overwinters as: Early stage larva
Observations: The Northern Brown Argus or Mountain Argus as the name suggests is the hardier of the "Aricia"genera in this country, occurring on the hills and mountain sides in northern England and Scotland.
This butterfly closely resembles the Brown Argus, and for many years was considered a subspecies, although modern genetics have established without doubt that they are two distinct species.
The Scottish specimen A.antaxerxes has two distinct white forewing spots whereas the English specimen A.salmacis lacks the white forewing markings although as the specimens in the photos below taken at Arnside Knott show, an in between spot markings with some having a white spot,with a small black spot similar to that seen with the Brown Argus aberration A.a.snellini ter-Haar, 1900 and some lacking the white markings altogether.What is clear is that further research is required on poulations south of Scotland to clarify the difference between the two species.
Again the white underside spots on the northern Brown Argus are less clearly defined compared to its cousin and can be seen very clearly in photo 3.
A.a.antaxerces Fabricius, 1793 found in Scotland is closely related to the populations found in Scandanavia whereas A.a.salmacis ter Haar, 1900 is more like the populations found on the continent.
The butterfly fly between June and mid-August and can be found usually in small numbers and are sedentary in nature usually staying within 30m during their lifetime.
They are found on thin,well drained,unfertilised,lightly grazed grassland where bushy Rock-rose can be found in abundance.
The butterfly is only locally common with scattered colonies across its range.
Wingspan: 25-31mm
Worldwide Distribution: Scandinavia : Mountainous area of Central Europe : North Africa
UK Distribution: Scotland A. a. antaxerxes : Northern England A. a. salmacis
UK Conservation Status -
- Fully Protected in Great Britain
- BAP : 2007 - Priority Species
- Notable ( Nb 1980/93 ) = 31 - 100 10Km Squares
- Critically Endangered - Butterfly Red List for Great Britain 2010
- NERC S.41 : 2008 (England) - Species "of principle importance for the purpose of conserving biodiversity
- Scottish Biodiversity List : 2005
- Near Threatened
- Hesperia artaxerxes (Fabricius 1793)
- Papilio agestis ([Denis & Schiffermüller],1775)
- Scotland
Flight Period: Mid June-Late July-depending on location
Habitat: Coastal cliffs : South facing slopes on short grass on limestone/calcareous soils
Ovum: The egg is deposited on the upperside of the leaf of Common Rock-rose making it conspicuous and easy to find in sunshine.
Larva: The young larva upon hatching moves to the underside of the leaf to feed on the soft tissue leaving transparent windows making the caterpillar easier to spot.
They move to the base of the plant to hibernate before continuing to feed the following spring with ants in attendance.
Pupa: The chrysalis also attracts ants by sound like its cousin the Brown Argus.
Overwinters as: Early stage larva
Observations: The Northern Brown Argus or Mountain Argus as the name suggests is the hardier of the "Aricia"genera in this country, occurring on the hills and mountain sides in northern England and Scotland.
This butterfly closely resembles the Brown Argus, and for many years was considered a subspecies, although modern genetics have established without doubt that they are two distinct species.
The Scottish specimen A.antaxerxes has two distinct white forewing spots whereas the English specimen A.salmacis lacks the white forewing markings although as the specimens in the photos below taken at Arnside Knott show, an in between spot markings with some having a white spot,with a small black spot similar to that seen with the Brown Argus aberration A.a.snellini ter-Haar, 1900 and some lacking the white markings altogether.What is clear is that further research is required on poulations south of Scotland to clarify the difference between the two species.
Again the white underside spots on the northern Brown Argus are less clearly defined compared to its cousin and can be seen very clearly in photo 3.
A.a.antaxerces Fabricius, 1793 found in Scotland is closely related to the populations found in Scandanavia whereas A.a.salmacis ter Haar, 1900 is more like the populations found on the continent.
The butterfly fly between June and mid-August and can be found usually in small numbers and are sedentary in nature usually staying within 30m during their lifetime.
They are found on thin,well drained,unfertilised,lightly grazed grassland where bushy Rock-rose can be found in abundance.
The butterfly is only locally common with scattered colonies across its range.
Subspecies
A. a.salmacis (Stephens, 1828) - Northern England
A. a.salmacis (Stephens, 1828) - Northern England
Larval Food Plants Worldwide
Northern Brown Argus larvae feed on plant families described below plant photos.
Northern Brown Argus larvae feed on plant families described below plant photos.
Note - Plants hyperlinked in red below take the visitor to the relevant plant page on"Plants for a Future" website
where further information like photos,physical
characteristics,habitats,edible uses,medicinal
uses,cultivation,propagation,range,height etc. are clearly listed.
- Plant Families - in bold red below takes the visitor to the relevant "Lepi-plants" page where other butterflies & moths using the plants below are listed.
- Cistaceae - Rock-rose Family
- Helianthemum nummularium - Common Rock-rose
- Geraniaceae - Geranium - Cranebills Family
- Geranium sylvaticum - Wood Crane's-bill
Larval Food Plants
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Taxonomy
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Kingdom:
Subkingdom: Phylum: Subphylum Class: Order: Superfamily: Family: Subfamily: Tribe: Genus: Accepted Species Name: Type Species - ARICIA: Original Species Name: Species Names: Literary Ref: Type Locality: Forms/Aberrations: Subspecies: |
Animalia
Eumetozoa Arthropoda Hexapoda Insecta Lepidoptera Papilionoidea Lycaenidae Polyommatinae Polyommatini ARICIA Reichenbach, 1817 Aricia artaxerxes (Fabricius, 1793) - Papilio agestis ([Denis & Schiffermüller],1775) - HESPERIA artaxerxes (Fabricius 1793) = Plebeius artaxerxes (Fabricius 1793) = Papilio allous Geyer 1836 = Lycaena montana Heyne, 1895 = Aricia inhonora Jachontov, 1909 = Lycaena nevadensis Oberthür 1910 = Aricia macedonica Verity, 1936 - Entomologia systematica emendata et aucta 3 (1): 328, no. 297 - Scotland - A.a. quadripuncta Tutt, 1896 A.a. semi-vedrae Harrison, 1906 A.a. vedrae Harrison, 1905 - A.a.artaxerxes (Fabricius, 1793) - Scotland A.a.salmacis (Stephens, 1828) - N England A.a.allous Geyer, 1836-Pyranees, S & SE France,mountains of C & S Europe,Alps,Balkans,Apennines to Ural mountains, Caucasus, Transcaucasia, Asia Minor, Fennoscandia excluding N parts of Crimea A.a.montensis Verity, 1928-Spain,C Portugal,mountains of Morocco A.a.vancalica Kaaber & Hoegh-Guldberg, 1961- W Europe A.a.ukrainica Obraztsov, 1936-S E Europe A.a.inhonors Jachontov, 1909-S Urals A.a.sheljuzhkoi Obraztsov, 1935-Caucasus Major A.a.turgaica Obraztsov, 1935-SW.Siberia A.a.lepsinskana Obraztsov, 1935-Dzhungarsky Alatau A.a.transalaica Obratzov, 1935-Ghissar : Darvaz : Pamirs-Alai: Himalayas A.a.scytissa Nekrutenko, 1985-Tian-Shan A.a.sarmatis Grum-Grshimailo, 1890-S Urals A.a.strandi Obraztsov, 1935-Altai - W.Amur A.a.mandzhuriana Obraztsov, 1935-E.Amur : Ussuri A.a.hakutozana Matsumura, 1927-N Korea A.a.sachalinensis Matsumura, 1919-Sakhalin |