Yellow-banded ringlet facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Yellow-banded ringlet
Langham and Wheeler collection - Ulster Museum
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Erebia
Species:	E. flavofasciata
Binomial name
Erebia flavofasciata Heyne, [1895]
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The yellow-banded ringlet (Erebia flavofasciata) is a special type of butterfly. It belongs to a group called Satyrinae, which are part of the larger Nymphalidae family. This butterfly lives high up in the mountains. You can only find it in a small part of the Alps, specifically in Switzerland and Italy. It was first discovered in 1893.

What Does This Butterfly Look Like?

The yellow-banded ringlet is a very interesting butterfly. It is about the same size and shape as another butterfly called Erebia cassiope. However, its patterns are more like the Erebia melampus butterfly.

Colors and Patterns

The main color of this butterfly is dark brown. This is common for many Erebia butterflies. On its front wings, there is a narrow band of reddish-brown color near the outer edge. This band is usually broken into 5 or 6 rounded spots by the veins of the wing. These spots often have small black dots inside them. The spots in the middle of the wing (called cellules 4 and 5) are often longer and have bigger black dots.

On the upper side of its back wings, there are 4 reddish-yellow, rounded spots near the outer edge. These spots also have black dots.

Differences Between Males and Females

Female yellow-banded ringlets are usually a bit lighter in color than the males. Their spots on the back wings are also larger and have stronger black dots.

The underside of the front wing is grayish-brown. The yellow-brown band on the underside is wider and continuous, not broken into separate spots like on the top. The black dots on the underside stand out very clearly. The middle part of the wing has a light reddish-brown tint that fades towards the body.

The underside of the back wing is brownish-grey. It has a fairly large, straw-yellow band that runs parallel to the outer edge. This band stretches from the top edge almost to the bottom corner of the wing. Inside this yellow band, there is a row of 5 or 6 black dots. These dots are usually about the same size and are shifted a little towards the outer edge. Female butterflies are generally lighter and brighter in color on their undersides compared to males.

Different Forms of the Butterfly

There are slight differences in the butterfly depending on where it lives. For example, a form called thiemei from the Engadine region is darker than those from Tessin. In this form, the band on the front wing is broken into separate spots of different sizes. These spots might have very faint black dots, or sometimes they might even be missing.

Where Does the Yellow-Banded Ringlet Live?

This butterfly prefers to live on steep, grassy, and rocky slopes high in the mountains. It was first found in the Alps of Tessin, near the Campolungo-Pass in Fusio, Switzerland. Later, it was also found in Pontresina in the upper Engadine valley.

Life and Habits

What Do We Know About Its Young?

Scientists are still learning about the yellow-banded ringlet. For example, the plant that its caterpillars eat (called the larval host plant) is not yet known.

A specific type of yellow-banded ringlet found in Switzerland has been suggested as a separate subspecies, named Erebia flavofasciata warreni.