Disa Alpine (Erebia disa [Thunberg])
Wing span: 1 5/8 - 1 3/4 inches (4.1 - 4.5 cm).
Identification: Upperside is brown-black; forewing has 4 submarginal black spots surrounded by yellow-orange. Underside is gray-brown; forewing is reddish with 4-5 black submarginal spots; hindwing with conspicuous white spot beyond the end of the cell.
Life history: Adults are active in the mornings and evenings, and commonly rest on trees.
Flight: One brood every other year from late May-early July in most of its range; every year in some locations.
Caterpillar hosts: Probably sedges or grasses.
Adult food: Not reported.
Habitat: Black spruce-sphagnum bogs.
Range: Holarctic. Subarctic Alaska and Canada east and south across Canada to east-central Ontario and northern Minnesota. Isolated records from northern Quebec and Labrador.
Conservation: Not usually required.
The Nature Conservancy Global Rank: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management needs: None reported.
References:
Opler, P. A. and G. O. Krizek. 1984. Butterflies east of the Great Plains. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. 294 pages, 54 color plates. Opler, P. A. and V. Malikul. 1992. A field guide to eastern butterflies. Peterson field guide #4. Houghton-Mifflin Co., Boston. 396 pages, 48 color plates. Scott, J. A. 1986. The butterflies of North America. Stanford University Press, Stanford, Calif. 583 pages, 64 color plates. Tilden, J. W. 1986. A field guide to western butterflies. Houghton-Mifflin Co., Boston, Mass. 370 pages, 23 color plates.
Author: Jane M. Struttmann
State and Regional References:
Layberry, R.A., Hall, P.W. & Lafontaine, D.J., 1998. The Butterflies of Canada. University of Toronto Press, Toronto, ON. 280 pp. Opler, P.A. 1998. A field guide to eastern butterflies, revised format. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.