Butterflies of the Southern Altai

Systematic List         Butterflies

Papilionidae

Swallowtail	Papilio machaon	Rather scarce – seen mostly on high passes. 4/14
Scarce Swallowtail	Iphiclides podalirius	1 between Ust-Kamenogorsk and Zaysan
	Parnassius ariadne	1 seen well and photographed on route up the Cold Pass at Markakol
Small Apollo	Parnassius phoebus	2 probably this species photographed on the dry hill north of Markakol and 4+ almost certainly this species on the way up the Alatay Pass. 2/14
Apollo	Parnassius apollo	Subspecies ‘alpherakyi’. Seen above Cim Bulak, Almaty and 2+ between Kamenka and Ust-Kamenogorsk. 2/14

Pieridae

Orange-Tip	Anthocharis cardamines	Widespread in low numbers. 7/14
Black-veined White	Aporia crataegi	Widespread. 9/14
Eastern Pale Clouded Yellow	Colias rate	Probably widespread but only identified with certainty on 4 days. Certainly there were other Colias species present that went unidentified
	Colias tyche	1 seen on the ‘Scots Pine’ Pass in the Kalbinskiy Hills
Brimstone	Gonepteryx rhami	Noted in the Kalbinskiy Hills and 1 on the Alatay Pass. 3/14
	Leptidea morsei	At times the commonest of the wood whites at Markakol. Distinctive with pronounced ‘cross-bars’ on the hindwings and slightly more attentuated forewings. 3/14
Wood White	Leptidea sinapis	Markakol. 3/14
Large White	Pieris brassicae	Scattered. 6/14
Green-veined White	Pieris napi muechi	Widespread. 8/14
Small White	Pieris rapae	Only seen in Almaty at the Cathedral!
Eastern Dappled White	Euchloe ausonia pulverata	?Probably this species above Cim Bulak, Almaty
Eastern Bath White	Pontia edusa	Widespread and common
	Metaporia leucodice	Noted at Cim Bulak, Almaty

Lycaenidae

Holly Blue	Celastrina argiolus	Only noted at the yourta service area in the Kalbinskiy Hills
Osiris Blue	Cupido osiris	The commonest blue in the Markakol area. 3/14
Small Blue	Cupido minimus	Also very common at Markakol. 2/14
	Cupido buddhista	Noted at Cim Bulak, Almaty
Chequered Blue	Scolitantides orion	1 on the Marble Pass and 3+ on the dry hill north of Markakol. 2/14
Large Blue sp	Maculinea sp	1 seen on the Alatay Pass
Idas Blue	Plebeius idas	In the hotel garden at Ust-Kamenogorsk
Silver-studded Blue	Plebeius argus	A colony of hundreds at the ‘orchid’ marsh in the Bukhtarma Valley
Zephyr Blue	Plebeius pylaon	Noted between Ust-Kamenogorsk and Zaysan and several at the yourta service area there on the way back. 2/14
Mountain Argus	Aricia artaxerxes	Subspecies ‘strandi’. Seen on the Alatay and Bukhtarma Passes. 2/14
Geranium Argus	Eumedonia eumedon	The commonest blue in meadows between Markakol and the Burkhat pass. 2/14
Mazarine Blue	Cyaniris semiargus	Scattered. 5/14
Amanda’s Blue	Agrodiaetus amandus	1 on the Alatay Pass
Common Blue	Polyommatus icarus	Only noted on the Alatay Pass

Nymphalidae 

Dark Green Fritillary	Argynnis aglaja	Only seen at the ‘orchid marsh’ in the Bukhtarma Valley
Cardinal	Argynnis pandora	Singles in the Kalbinskiy Hills and Marble Pass. 2/14
Pearl-bordered Fritillary	Clossiana euphrosyne	A few in the Markakol area. 2/14
Queen of Spain Fritillary	Issoria lathonia	Scattered. 5/14
Lesser Marbled Fritillary	Brenthis ino	1 at the ‘orchid marsh’ in the Bukhtarma Valley
Glanville Fritillary	Melitaea cinxia	Noted in the Kalbinskiy Hills and on the Altay Pass
	Melitaea latonigena	Common on the dry hill north of Markakol and on the Alatay Pass. 2/14
Freyer’s Fritillary	Melitaea arduninna	Noted in the Kalbinskiy Hills
	Melitaea arcesia	2 on the Alatay Pass – looks superficially like a small Euphydryas species!
Assmann’s Fritillary	Mellicta britomartis	A few seen around Markakol, Alatay and Burkhat Passes. 3/14
Lapland Fritillary	Euphydryas iduna	2 just outside the village at Markakol
Asian Fritillary	Euphydryas intermedia	Seen on the Alatay Pass and below the Burkhat Pass. 2/14
Marsh Fritillary	Euphydryas aurinia	1 near Markakol
Hungarian Glider	Neptis rivularis	Widespread. 8/14
Poplar Admiral	Limenitis populi	Around a dozen seen on each journey along the Bukhtarma’s main northward tributary below the climb to Rakhmanovskie Klyuchi
	Limenitis sydyi	1 dead one found at the yourta service area in the Kalbinskiy Hills
	Limenitis helmanni	Abundant at the yourta service area in the Kalbinskiy Hills
Camberwell Beauty	Nymphalis antiopa	Singles twice at Markakol – overwinterers as they were in bad condition!
Yellow-legged Tortoiseshell	Nymphalis xanthomelas	Widespread and common. 11/14
Small Tortoiseshell	Aglais urticae	Widespread and common – except Zaysan. 10/14
Map Butterfly	Araschnia levana	Not uncommon around Markakol and the Alatay Pass. 3/14
Peacock	Inachis io	Only seen once at Markakol
Comma	Polygonum c-album	Singles on the Alatay Pass and on the northward tributary of the Buktarma below the climb to Rakhmanovskie Klyuchi. 2/14
Painted Lady	Cynthia cardui	Scattered. 4/14

Satyridae 

Hermit	Chazara briseus magna	Only seen in the Bukhtarma Valley
Great Sooty Satyr	Satyrus ferula	1 at the Spring in Zaysan
False Ringlet	Coenonympha oedippus	Quite common around the bee farm at Kamenka. 3/14
Chestnut Heath	Coenonympha glycerion	1 in the Kalbinskiy Hills and also noted at the bee farm near Kamenka. 2/14
	Coenonympha sunbecca	Quite a few seen above Cim Bulak, Almaty
Dalmatian Ringlet	Proterebia afra	A single in the Kalbinskiy Hills
Arran Brown	Erebia ligea	The common ringlet at Rakhmanovskie Klyuchi. 2/14
	Erebia jeniseiensis	Common on the Burkhat Pass
	Erebia kindermanni	Seen on the Alatay Pass. Like the next species but with no orange areas on the inner part of wing
	Erebia theano	Widespread and quite common in meadows above about 1100m. 4/14
	Erebia cyclopius	Singles at Markakol and by the north tributary of the Bukhtarma River below the rise to Rakhmanovskie Klyuchi. 2/14. A very distinctive ringlet
Scotch Argus	Erebia aethiops	Above Cim Bulak, Almaty
	Erebia turanica	Above Cim Bulak, Almaty
	Aphantopus hyperantus	1 by the north tributary of the Bukhtarma River below the rise to Rakhmanovskie Klyuchi
	Hyponephele naricina	?The small ‘browns’ in the Kiin Kerish Canyon and other parts of Zaysan were probably this species?
Oriental Meadow Brown	Hyponephele lupina	?Large ‘meadow brown’ types seen in various areas must surely have been this species?
	Oeneis nanna	2 amid dry tundra on the Burkhat Pass
Large Wall Brown	Lasiommata maera	Quite common at Markakol and on the Kalbinskiy Hills
Northern Wall Brown	Lasiommata petropolitana	Seen on the Alatay Pass
	Lopinga achine	1 going to roost on the side of the ‘mess hut’ at the bee farm, Kamenka
Esper’s Marbled White	Melanargia russiae	Scattered. 3/14

Hesperiidae

Chequered Skipper	Carterocephalus palaemon	Singles on the Alatay Pass and in a bog by the lake at Rakhmanovskie Klyuchi. 2/14
Orbed Red-underwing Skipper	Spialia orbifer	A single at Markakol
Large Skipper	Ochlodes venetus	Scattered. 3/14
Olive Skipper	Pyrgus serratulae	1 on the Burkhat Pass
Large Grizzled Skipper	Pyrgus alveus	Common on the Alatay Pass
Essex Skipper	Thymelicus lineola	Common at the ‘yourta service area’ in the Kalbinskiy Hills
Small Skipper	Thymelicus sylvestris	1 on the Alatay Pass