The carline skipper (''Pyrgus carlinae'') is a

butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

and a species of the skipper (family Hesperiidae). It is a montane butterfly only found in southwestern areas of the Alps. It can be an abundant species within this restricted range. As with most ''Pyrgus'' species, the carline skipper can be difficult to identify in the field. The dark brown upper forewings are marked with relatively small white markings but can usually be separated from the

olive skipper The Olive Skipper (''Pyrgus serratulae'') is a species of skipper (butterfly), skipper (family Skipper (butterfly), Hesperiidae). Description This is a relatively distinctive species by the standards of the genus, the upperside tending to be ...

(''Pyrgus serratulae'') by a c-shaped white mark close to the

costa Costa may refer to: Biology * Rib (Latin: ''costa''), in vertebrate anatomy * Costa (botany), the central strand of a plant leaf or thallus * Costa (coral), a stony rib, part of the skeleton of a coral * Costa (entomology), the leading edge of th ...

and the reddish-brown, not olive green, colour of the under hindwings, with a large square pale spot close to the margin. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...

is 26–28 mm.

Description in Seitz

H. carlinae Rambr. (85 h). Underside of hindwing reddish brown; the white spots between veins 2 and 4 much reduced; in interspace 2 a white, usually rounded, spot, which belongs to the subterminal band, the latter being otherwise but feebly marked. In the Alps and the mountains of Arragonia. The adults are on the wing from June to August.

Adalbert Seitz Friedrich Joseph Adalbert Seitz, (24 February 1860 in Mainz – 5 March 1938 in Darmstadt) was a German physician and entomologist who specialised in Lepidoptera. He was a director of the Frankfurt zoo from 1893 to 1908 and is best known for editi ...

''Die Großschmetterlinge der Erde'', Verlag Alfred Kernen, Stuttgart Band 1: Abt. 1, Die Großschmetterlinge des palaearktischen Faunengebietes, Die palaearktischen Tagfalter, 1909, 379 Seiten, mit 89 kolorierten Tafeln (3470 Figuren)

Biology

The

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

l food plant is

spring cinquefoil ''Potentilla pusilla'', the spring cinquefoil or spotted cinquefoil, is a perennial species of flowering plant in the rose family (Rosaceae). It may grow up to the height of 5–15 cm (2-6 in). It was first scientifically described by H.G. ...

References

* Whalley, Paul - Mitchell Beazley Guide to Butterflies (1981, reprinted 1992)

External links

Barcodes of life

Fauna Europaea

Lepiforum.de
{{Taxonbar, from=Q290749 Pyrgus Butterflies of Europe Butterflies described in 1839 Taxa named by Jules Pierre Rambur