Silky ringlet facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Silky ringlet |
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| Langham and Wheeler collection - Ulster Museum | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Nymphalidae |
| Genus: | Erebia |
| Species: |
E. gorge
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| Binomial name | |
| Erebia gorge (Hübner, [1803-1804])
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The silky ringlet (Erebia gorge) is a type of butterfly that lives in high mountain areas. It belongs to a group of butterflies called the Satyrinae subfamily, which is part of the larger Nymphalidae family. You can find this butterfly flying around rocky slopes, called screes, in the Alps, Pyrenees, central Italy, and the Balkans. It's known for looking a bit different from one butterfly to another, making each one unique!
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About the Silky Ringlet Butterfly
The silky ringlet butterfly has wings that are a bit narrower than some other butterflies. Its back wings (hindwings) have a slightly angled shape, and females might have a gently jagged edge.
What Does It Look Like?
On its front wings (forewings), the silky ringlet has a reddish-brown band near the edge. This band usually goes all the way to the back edge of the wing. Inside this band, you'll often see two black spots, called "ocelli" or "eyespots," which look a bit like tiny eyes. These spots sometimes have white centers. Females might even have a third small eyespot or just a black dot.
The back wings also have a narrower band with three to four eyespots, which usually have white centers.
Looking at the Underside
If you look at the underside of the front wing, it's reddish-brown with dark brown edges. The underside of the back wing is dark brown and often has white-grey patterns, like marble. This helps the butterfly blend in with rocks. Sometimes, you can see three black dots on the underside of the back wing, which rarely have white centers.
Female silky ringlets are usually a bit lighter in color. The underside of their back wings is more grey with brown dusting, and they have a dark band in the middle that looks jagged on one side.
Where Do They Live?
Silky ringlets are common in the higher parts of the Alps and other mountain ranges. They only live above the tree line, where there are no trees, just rocks and open spaces.
How Do They Behave?
Even though the air is cold at high altitudes, the silky ringlet is a very active butterfly when the sun is out. It flies quite fast and likes to land on warm rocks. These butterflies are a bit shyer than some other Erebia butterflies, but they don't fly away easily. If a silky ringlet is chased, it might get blown away by the strong mountain wind. It can be carried downwards but will slowly return to the mountain top by flying on the side protected from the wind. Sometimes, they even land on snow and stay there for a while! They are found in large numbers where they live.
What's in a Name?
The name Gorga comes from Greek mythology. Gorga was the daughter of King Oineus and Alpheus. She was also the mother of Tydeus, who was one of the heroes in the story of the "seven against Thebes."
 | Selma Burke |
 | Pauline Powell Burns |
 | Frederick J. Brown |
 | Robert Blackburn |
