Common Alpine (Erebia epipsodea Butler)
Wing span: 1 5/8 - 2 inches (4.2 - 5.1 cm).
Identification: Wings are dark brown. Upperside of both wings with white-centered submarginal eyespots in a yellow-orange patch. Underside of forewing is similar to the upperside; hindwing is gray with submarginal black eyespots.
Life history: Males patrol all day to watch for females. Eggs are laid on living and dead grasses. Third- and fourth-stage caterpillars hibernate.
Flight: One brood from mid-June to early August.
Caterpillar hosts: Probably grasses.
Adult food: Flower nectar.
Habitat: Moist open grassy fields, meadows, high prairies, open forests.
Range: Alaska south through the Rocky Mountains to northern New Mexico; west across the prairie provinces to southwest Manitoba.
