Genus special: Coenonympha (part II)

Second part in the Coenonympha special

Russian heath - Coenonympha leander

Distributed from the Balkan over Turkey to the Caucasus from 500-2000m, from hilly grasslands to subalpine zone.

Macedonia

Armenia

Balkan heath - Coenonympha (leander) orientalis

There are several opinions on the status of this taxon, from being a subspecies of C. gardetta, a subspecies of C. leander to a species on its own. An article debating this can be found here.

Albania

False ringlet - Coenonympha oedippus

A lowland species, mostly found <500m, has declined seriously in Europe. Mostly found in wet grasslands, hence water management probably being one of the main reasons for the decline.

central Europe

Scarce heath - Coenonympha hero

Until the early nineties this species had a population in the south of Belgium. Changes in forest management, water level management, nitrification and maybe climate change have however induced a massive decline in the western distribution of this species so that nowadays - apart from a few populations in the very east of France - it has almost disappeared from France as well.  

France

Large heath - Coenonympha tullia

A species that has declined massively in NW-Europe and has disappeared from Belgium and parts of the Netherlands and northern France. Reasons for decline are probably a combination of nitrification, water level management, climate change,... 

I have only seen it once in northern Austria on a windy day so butterflies were difficult to get close by so I only have this vague picture. A variable species with lots of described local forms. The form depicted here is C. tullia tiphon.

N-Austria

Eastern large heath - Coenonympha (tullia) rhodopensis

The Balkan mountain replacement of previous species and in debate if a species on its own. Subalpine to alpine.

NE Greece

Macedonia

Dusky heath - Coenonympha dorus

To be found in the western Mediterranean area from central Italy over the south of France and Iberia to northwestern Africa.

SE-France

C-Spain

Corsican heath - Coenonympha corinna

Endemic of Corsica and Sardinia, common on the islands.

C-Corsica

Elban heath - Coenonympha (corinna) elbana

Closely related to previous species and nowadays mostly seen as a subspecies of Corsican heath. It is restricted to Elba and some smaller islands but can also be found on the opposing Tuscan coast where I could see the species.

Tuscany, Italia

Coenonympha saadi

A middle eastern specialty. From central Turkey over Transcaucasia into Iran.

C-Armenia

Species fromt the Western Palearctic still missing in this list are mainly far eastern species, island specialties and species from northern Africa. All species I hope to see in the future...

Far east:

- Coenonympha (Triphysa) phryne: from the Crimea eastwards

- Coenonympha (Triphysa) dohrnii: unclear if in Western Palearctic, from eastern slopes of Ural eastwards.

- Coenonympha amaryllis: from southern Ural mountains to the east

- Coenonympha symphyta: endemic of Transcaucasia

Island specialities:

- Coenonympha thyrsis: endemic of Crete

Northern Africa: 

- Coenonympha arcanioides: from N Morocco over the Rif mountains to Tunesia

- Coenonympha vaucheri: high mountain species in Morocco

- Coenonympha (dorus) fettigii: from Morocco to Tunesia