Yellow-spotted ringlet facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Yellow-spotted ringlet
Specimens from Austria (Langham and Wheeler collection - Ulster Museum)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Erebia
Species:	E. manto
Binomial name
Erebia manto (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775)
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The yellow-spotted ringlet (Erebia manto) is a beautiful butterfly. It belongs to a group of butterflies called the Satyrinae subfamily, which is part of the larger Nymphalidae family.

This butterfly loves to live in mountain meadows. You can find it high up, usually between 900 and 2,500 meters (about 3,000 to 8,200 feet) above sea level. It lives in several mountain ranges across Europe. These include the Alps, the Pyrenees, the Cantabrian Mountains, the Massif Central, the Vosges Mountains, the Carpathian Mountains, and the mountains of Herzegovina.

The yellow-spotted ringlet was first officially described in Vienna, Austria. Its wingspan, which is the distance from one wingtip to the other when the wings are spread out, is usually between 25 and 32 millimeters (about 1 to 1.25 inches).

What Does the Yellow-Spotted Ringlet Look Like?

The yellow-spotted ringlet butterfly has a distinct look. Its front wings often have a reddish-brown band. This band is usually made up of oval-shaped spots. Inside these spots, you might see two or three small black dots.

The hindwings (back wings) sometimes have small, reddish-brown spots that can be hard to see. The underside of the male butterfly's wings is brown. The band on the front wing is clearer on the underside than on the top. The hindwing's underside has some reddish-brown spots, which might also have a few black dots.

Female butterflies usually have lighter colors on their undersides. The middle part of their front wing is brownish. The edges of their wings, and their hindwings, are often covered with yellowish-grey dust-like scales. Near the base of the hindwing, there are often some yellowish spots. Sometimes, these spots join together to form a wider band.

The fringes (the small hairs along the edge of the wings) are a bit lighter than the main wing color in males. In females, these fringes are grey.

Different Looks of the Yellow-Spotted Ringlet

Just like people, butterflies can have different appearances within the same species. Scientists have described several forms of the yellow-spotted ringlet. For example, some forms found in the northern Central Alps have a white band on the underside of their hindwings.

Other forms might be uniformly black-brown without any spots on top. There's even a very small form that lives high above the tree-line in the Swiss and Tyrolean Alps. This tiny form has small, streak-like reddish-brown spots on its front wings.

Life Cycle of the Yellow-Spotted Ringlet

Adult yellow-spotted ringlet butterflies are usually seen flying from July to August.

The young butterflies, called larvae (caterpillars), are yellowish-green. They have a honey-colored head and legs. On their back, they have two rows of black comma-shaped spots.

When the caterpillar is ready to change, it becomes a pupa. The pupa is yellow with purple markings. The pupa usually rests freely on the ground. After about three weeks, the adult butterfly emerges from the pupa. This species is quite common in its habitat.

What Do Yellow-Spotted Ringlets Eat?

The caterpillars of the yellow-spotted ringlet butterfly mainly eat plants from the Festuca group, especially a type of grass called Festuca rubra.

Images for kids

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  A subspecies called pyrrhula

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  A female yellow-spotted ringlet butterfly