Oeneis alpina
Encyclopedia
Oeneis alpina, the sentinel arctic or Eskimo arctic, is a species of butterfly in the subfamily
Satyrinae
. It occurs in Siberia and the northern parts of North America.
) but the latter has a single eyespot on its hindwing.
, in the Chukot
and Magadan
regions, and the tundra regions of Alaska
, Yukon
and the Northwest Territories
. It is generally uncommon but occasionally abundant locally.
s and rocky places in tundra
regions and the females fly to join them. After mating, the females return to wet boggy land where they deposit their eggs on or near their host plants which are believed to be grasses, (Poa
spp). Little is known of the development of the larva
e, but it is assumed that they overwinter twice before maturing as the butterflies are locally abundant only in alternate years.
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Satyrinae
Satyrinae
Satyrinae, the satyrines or satyrids, commonly known as the Browns, is a subfamily of the Nymphalidae . They were formerly considered a distinct family, Satyridae. This group contains nearly half of the known diversity of brush-footed butterflies...
. It occurs in Siberia and the northern parts of North America.
Description
The wing span of O. alpina is about forty millimetres. The wings are orangish-brown, with the base two thirds a much darker shade. The forewing has one to three eyespots with white centres and the hindwing has two. The underside of the wings also have these eyespots, and the underside of the hindwing is mottled with brown and grey streaks. The female is a little larger than the male with the basal region of the wing a paler shade. This species resembles the brown arctic (Oeneis chryxusOeneis chryxus
Common names: Chryxus Arctic, Brown ArcticThe Chryxus Arctic is a butterfly, a species of Satyrinae that occurs in North America.-Description:...
) but the latter has a single eyespot on its hindwing.
Distribution
O. alpina occurs in north east SiberiaSiberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
, in the Chukot
Chukotka Autonomous Okrug
Chukotka Autonomous Okrug , or Chukotka , is a federal subject of Russia located in the Russian Far East.Chukotka has a population of 53,824 according to the 2002 Census, and a surface area of . The principal town and the administrative center is Anadyr...
and Magadan
Magadan
Magadan is a port town on the Sea of Okhotsk and gateway to the Kolyma region. It is the administrative center of Magadan Oblast , in the Russian Far East. Founded in 1929 on the site of an earlier settlement from the 1920s, it was granted the status of town in 1939...
regions, and the tundra regions of Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, Yukon
Yukon
Yukon is the westernmost and smallest of Canada's three federal territories. It was named after the Yukon River. The word Yukon means "Great River" in Gwich’in....
and the Northwest Territories
Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...
. It is generally uncommon but occasionally abundant locally.
Reproduction
There is a single brood per year in June and July. The males congregate on hilltops, screeScree
Scree, also called talus, is a term given to an accumulation of broken rock fragments at the base of crags, mountain cliffs, or valley shoulders. Landforms associated with these materials are sometimes called scree slopes or talus piles...
s and rocky places in tundra
Tundra
In physical geography, tundra is a biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons. The term tundra comes through Russian тундра from the Kildin Sami word tūndâr "uplands," "treeless mountain tract." There are three types of tundra: Arctic tundra, alpine...
regions and the females fly to join them. After mating, the females return to wet boggy land where they deposit their eggs on or near their host plants which are believed to be grasses, (Poa
Poa
Poa is a genus of about 500 species of grasses, native to the temperate regions of both hemispheres. Common names include meadow-grass , bluegrass , tussock , and speargrass. "Poa" is Greek for fodder...
spp). Little is known of the development of the larva
Larva
A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...
e, but it is assumed that they overwinter twice before maturing as the butterflies are locally abundant only in alternate years.
Subspecies
- Oeneis alpina alpina (Magadan, Chukot Peninsula)
- Oeneis alpina execubitor Troubridge, Philip, Scott & Shepard, 1982 (northern Yukon, Northwest Territories, northern Alaska)