Oeneis melissa

Oeneis melissa
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Hipparchia semidea by Titian Peale
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Oeneis
Species:	O. melissa
Binomial name
Oeneis melissa (Fabricius, 1775)
Synonyms
Papilio melissa Fabricius, 1775 Oeneis beanii Elwes, 1893 Oeneis arctica Gibson, 1920 Oeneis simulans Gibson, 1920 Hipparchia semidea Say, 1828 Oeneis eritiosa Harris Oeneis aeno Boisduval Oeneis nigra (Edwards, 1894) Oeneis daisetsuzana Matsumura, 1926

The Melissa Arctic (Oeneis melissa) is a species of butterfly in the Nymphalidae family. It has a Holarctic distribution, ranging from Siberia and the North American arctic from Alaska east to Baffin Island and Labrador. Isolated populations are found from the Rocky Mountains south to northern New Mexico and in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. The habitat consists of tundra, talus slopes, rocky summits and saddles and frost-heaved clear-cuts.

The wingspan is 42–51 mm. The wings are translucent and the fringes are often checkered. The upperside is grey-brown with faint or absent eyespots. The underside of the hindwings is mottled black and grey. The median band is lacking or faint with white outlines. Adults are on wing from mid June to early August.

The larvae feed on various sedges, including Carex bigelowii and Carex rupestris. They feed at night and pupate under mosses and rocks. Development takes two years. The first winter is passed by first instar larvae, the second winter by mature larvae.

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Oeneis melissa daizetsuzana Japan

Subspecies

• Oeneis melissa melissa (Newfoundland, Labrador)
• Oeneis melissa also (Boisduval, [1833]) (Polar Urals, Arctic Asia, Taymur, Chukot Peninsula, Kamchatka, Wrangel Island)
• Oeneis melissa orientalis Kurentzov, 1970 (eastern Yakutia, Magadan)
• Oeneis melissa daizetsuzana Matsumura, 1926 (Japan)
• Oeneis melissa semidea (Say, 1828) (New Hampshire)
• Oeneis melissa semplei Holland, 1931 (Quebec, inner Labrador, Hudson Bay)
• Oeneis melissa assimilis Butler, 1868 (Northwest Territories)
• Oeneis melissa gibsoni Holland, 1931 (Alaska, Yukon, N.Britisch Columbia)
• Oeneis melissa beanii Elwes, 1893 (Alberta, British Columbia, Washington, Montana, Wyoming)
• Oeneis melissa lucilla Barnes & McDunnough, 1918
• Oeneis melissa karae Kusnezov, 1925 (polar tundra of northern Siberia)