Post by nomad on Dec 6, 2015 22:18:24 GMT -8
There are a number of very rare endemic subspecies in Europe. There are those threatened Parnassius apollo subspecies in Spain and butterflies such as Lysandra (Polyommatus) coridon nufrellensis which is confined to one mountain gorge in Corsica but which is the rarest European species.
A good contender for the title is the little Ratzer's Ringlet Erebia christi Ratzer 1890 ,which is confined to a small area of south-west Switzerland in the valleys south of Simplon and the adjoining part of north-west Italy in Piedmont.
Not only is Erebia christi rare but it usually inhabits very steep almost inaccessible slopes that are scattered with Larch trees and bushes. It also flies on the grassy ledges themselves, where the larvae foodplant the grass Fescuca ovina grows in profusion.
The type locality for this species is the Laggintal ( Laquinthal ) Valley just to the south of the high mountain village of Simplon dorf in Switzerland. That is where the British and other European collectors used to visit to take their specimens but even here it was considered uncommon and a prize catch. During the 1980s, two of E. christi's best sites in the Laggintal were destroyed through road building. Much declined in the valley, this rare butterfly still occurs in that locality, however nearly all attempts to find it there are unsuccessful. I have found on the web a few photographs of this species that were taken in this valley during 2011. See this link with good photographs of both sexes of E. christi and its biotype. www.lepido.ch/moires/erebia-christi/category/57 This butterfly also occurs in the nearby Zwischbergental Valley. See the same link.
In Swizerland, E. christi is protected and collecting is banned in the Laggintal, it is illegal to carry any form of collecting equipment in the Valley. Although I shall visit the Laggintal Valley next year and perhaps the Zwischbergental Valley, I would be very surprised if I came across this butterfly. For a start, almost vertical rocky slopes are not really my cup of tea, as the English say.
Today this butterfly, seems to have been recorded more at its Northern Italy sites, with new ones being discovered ( See the link below). Most of the recent images of E. christi have been taken in Northern Italy.
In Italy a dedicated team of researches have found new localities for this species, by some very extreme methods. See this link. hybridwildlife.com/2015/08/23/looking-for-rare-erebia-christi/
A good contender for the title is the little Ratzer's Ringlet Erebia christi Ratzer 1890 ,which is confined to a small area of south-west Switzerland in the valleys south of Simplon and the adjoining part of north-west Italy in Piedmont.
Not only is Erebia christi rare but it usually inhabits very steep almost inaccessible slopes that are scattered with Larch trees and bushes. It also flies on the grassy ledges themselves, where the larvae foodplant the grass Fescuca ovina grows in profusion.
The type locality for this species is the Laggintal ( Laquinthal ) Valley just to the south of the high mountain village of Simplon dorf in Switzerland. That is where the British and other European collectors used to visit to take their specimens but even here it was considered uncommon and a prize catch. During the 1980s, two of E. christi's best sites in the Laggintal were destroyed through road building. Much declined in the valley, this rare butterfly still occurs in that locality, however nearly all attempts to find it there are unsuccessful. I have found on the web a few photographs of this species that were taken in this valley during 2011. See this link with good photographs of both sexes of E. christi and its biotype. www.lepido.ch/moires/erebia-christi/category/57 This butterfly also occurs in the nearby Zwischbergental Valley. See the same link.
In Swizerland, E. christi is protected and collecting is banned in the Laggintal, it is illegal to carry any form of collecting equipment in the Valley. Although I shall visit the Laggintal Valley next year and perhaps the Zwischbergental Valley, I would be very surprised if I came across this butterfly. For a start, almost vertical rocky slopes are not really my cup of tea, as the English say.
Today this butterfly, seems to have been recorded more at its Northern Italy sites, with new ones being discovered ( See the link below). Most of the recent images of E. christi have been taken in Northern Italy.
In Italy a dedicated team of researches have found new localities for this species, by some very extreme methods. See this link. hybridwildlife.com/2015/08/23/looking-for-rare-erebia-christi/