Butterflies and Moths of North America

collecting and sharing data about Lepidoptera

Yellow-dotted Alpine
Erebia pawlowskii Ménétriés, 1859

Family: Nymphalidae
Subfamily: Satyrinae
Identification: Wings are dark brown with no eyespots. Upperside has a submarginal row of orange dashes across both wings. Underside of forewing repeats the upperside pattern; hindwing has a row of yellow-cream spots.
Wing Span: 1 1/4 - 1 13/16 inches (3.2 - 4.6 cm).
Life History: Adults fly infrequently and mostly rest in the grass. Males patrol slowly above grasses to find females. Eggs are laid singly on dead leaf blades near grasses, sedges, and rushes. Two years are required by the caterpillars to complete development; hibernation is by young caterpillars the first winter, mature caterpillars the second winter.
Flight: One brood every other year in July.
Caterpillar Hosts: Probably grasses or sedges.
Adult Food: Flower nectar.
Habitat: Grassy areas in and above wet tundra, bogs.
Range: Holarctic. Several isolated populations in North America from Alaska south in the mountains to Colorado; along the western edge of Hudson Bay to northern Manitoba.
Conservation: Not usually required.
Management Needs: None reported.
Comments: NULL