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Species Erebia vidleri - Vidler's Alpine - Hodges#4591
  Show images of: caterpillars · adults · bothClassification Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
Superfamily Papilionoidea (Butterflies and Skippers)
Family Nymphalidae (Brush-footed Butterflies)
Subfamily Satyrinae (Satyrs, Morphos and Owls)
Tribe Satyrini (Alpines, Arctics, Nymphs and Satyrs)
Genus Erebia (Alpines)
Species vidleri (Vidler's Alpine - Hodges#4591)
Other Common Names Northwest Alpine Explanation of Names Genus name derived from Greek Έρεβος (Erebos), darkness, or God of darkness; probably chosen in reference to the dark color.
Species name refers to Captain Vidler, who collected the type specimen in the mountains above Seton Lake, near Lillooet, B.C. (1). Size wingspan reported as 41-48 mm at nearctica.com, and 35-45 mm at CBIF Identification Adult: chocolate-brown base; DFW with broad, light orange band with ragged outlines, band tapering down toward trailing edge; two eye-spots near the tip, plus one farther down. VFW same as above but with yellow band. DHW with narrower orange band, and two or three eye spots; VHW with gray band, eye spots absent or inconspicuous. Wing margin checkered, giving a scalloped appearance. [Info. based in part on Pyle (2), and CBIF information - see Internet reference below] Range A Pacific Northwest endemic: occurs only in mountainous regions of Washington (Olympic and north Cascade Mountains) and southwestern British Columbia as far north as Mount Hoadley. Habitat Subalpine and alpine meadows, seeps, upper montane forest openings (3,500-8,300 feet) Season adults fly from late June to late August (early Aug. in its northern range) Food Though larval food unknown, sedges and grasses may be host plants. Guppy and Shepard (1) refer to Pinegrass ( Calamagrostis rubescens) as a possible larval food plant. Life Cycle Larvae have been reared from eggs deposited by captive females; pupa unknown (descriptions and photos in the ground-breaking book by James & Nunnallee, 2011 (3)). See Also Similar species: E. epipsodea (Butler's, or Common Alpine), which is not reported for the Olympic Mountains. The Common Alpine has black eye spots with white irises, lacks the checkered wing fringes, and has rusty spots on DHW. The gray band on the VHW extends to the wing margin, and has well-defined eye spots.
The closest in color and pattern, though not in genitalia, is Erebia niphonica Janson, from Japan, with a subspecies in Korea. Internet References Canadian Biodiversity Information (CBIF) species account on Vidler's Alpine
Erebia vidleri at Butterflies of America.
common name reference [Northwest Alpine] (Markku Savela, FUNET) Works Cited | 1. | Butterflies of British Columbia
Crispin S. Guppy, Jon H. Shepard. 2001. UBC Press. | |
| 3. | Life Histories of Cascadia Butterflies
David G. James and David Nunnallee. 2011. Oregon State University Press, Corvallis, OR. | |
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