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BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary


Erebia pawloskii
Yellow-dotted Alpine

 
Scientific Name: Erebia pawloskii Ménétriés, 1859
Scientific Name Synonyms: Erebia pawlowskii
English Name: Yellow-dotted Alpine
English Name Synonyms: Mountain Alpine
 
Classification / Taxonomy
Scientific Name - Concept Reference: Pelham, J. P. 2008. A catalogue of the butterflies of the United States and Canada with a complete bibliography of the descriptive and systematic literature. The Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera. Volume 40. 658 pp. Revised 14 February, 2012.
Classification Level: Species
Taxonomy Comments: Jan. 2006 - changed to E. pawloskii from E. pawlowskii as per NatureServe (DDW).
Shepard and Guppy (2001) put E. THEANO within this (formerly) Palaearctic species.
Species Group: Invertebrate Animal
Species Code: LE-EREPAW
Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family
Animalia Arthropoda Insecta Lepidoptera Nymphalidae
   
Conservation Status / Legal Designation
Global Status: G5 (Nov 2023)
Provincial Status: S2? (Jan 2020)
BC List: Red
Provincial FRPA list:   
Provincial Wildlife Act:
COSEWIC Status:
SARA Schedule:
General Status Canada: 6 - Not Assessed (2000)
   
Ecology & Life History
General Description:
Subspecies Comments: The nominate subspecies is described from Siberia (Layberry et al. 1998), central Yakutia, in the Great Sibagly River basin (Guppy and Shepard 2001). Two subspecies occur in Canada: E.p.alaskensis and E.p.canadensis. E.p.alaskensis occurs in BC, the Yukon and Alaska. E.p.canadensis occurs in Manitoba (Layberry et al. 1998).
Identification Comments: E.p.alaskensis is considered a small subspecies and has a wingspan from 29 to 38 mm. The ventral wing colouration is a darkish brown with a bar of orangish-yellow spots in the apical region of the forewings that fades in the same region on the hindwings. The dorsal wing sufaces have a reddish upperside and the barred pattern is also evident, although the hindwings are cream to pale yellow on the wing undersides (ventral) (Layberry et al. 1998; Guppy and Shepard 2001). The larvae are described as "dark brown dorsal and lateral stripes and the body and head are covered with thick club-like hairs" (Layberry et al. 1998). The eggs are an overall cream colour with reddish-brown spots (Bird et al. 1995).
Provincial Reproduction Comments: Adults fly from July to mid August and eggs have been reported on dead grasses and sedge leaves (Guppy and Shepard 2001).
Provincial Ecology Comments: Known populations are widely scattered and reported small in area (Guppy and Shepard 2001).
Migration Characteristics:
(Global / Provincial)		 
    Nonmigrant:
    Local Migrant:
    Distant Migrant:
    Within Borders Migrant: 		N / Y
N / N
N / N
na / N
Provincial Mobility & Migration Comments: Guppy and Shepard (2001) report the species as having a weak flight pattern.
Habitats:
(Type / Subtype / Dependence) 		Grassland/Shrub / Meadow / Facultative - frequent use
Wetland / Bog / Facultative - frequent use
Global Habitat Comments: This species is found in tundra, small marshes or wet meadows often with shrub willows in or slightly below alpine zone; also, taiga and grassy openings in pine forests (Philip and Ferris 2016; Scott 2020).
Provincial Habitat Comments: The population in Stone Mountain Provincial Park is within the subalpine and alpine meadows, grassy areas and bogs (Guppy and Shepard 2001).
Food Habits: Herbivore:Immature
Nectarivore: Adult
Global Food Habits Comments: Larval hosts for this species are grasses and adults nectar at flowers (Philip and Ferris 2016; Scott 2020).
Provincial Food Habits Comments: The larval foodplants are likely rushes, grasses and sedges and in Churchill the females have been observed laying eggs on willow (Salix spp.) (Layberry et al. 1998). Scott reports the larvae feeding on Poa pratensis in the lab (Guppy and Shepard 2001).
Global Phenology:
Provincial Phenology:
(1st half of month/
2nd half of month)		 Feb: / Larvae present and active
Mar: / Larvae present and active
Apr: / Larvae present and active
May: / Larvae present and active
June: / Pupae or prepupae present
July: Larvae present and active / Active
Aug: Larvae present and active / Active
Sept: Larvae present and active / Eggs present outside adult
Oct: / Larvae present and active
Nov: / Larvae present and active
Provincial Phenology Comments: The species has a two year life cycle and likely overwinters both years as a larvae, the second year pupating in the spring (Guppy and Shepard 2001). The species does fly every year with the flight season occuring from July to mid August (Layberry et al. 1998).
Colonial Breeder: N
Length(cm)/width(cm)/Weight(g): / /
Elevation (m) (min / max): Global: 
Provincial: 
   
 
Distribution
Endemic: N
Global Range Comment: This species is holarctic, found in northern Asia and North America where it occurs in Alaska and the central Rocky Mountains, from Montana to Colorado, in the United States and in Canada in the Yukon and British Columbia to western Hudson Bay (GBIF 2023; SCAN 2023).
 
Authors / Contributors
Global Information Author: T. Cornelisse
Last Updated: Nov 08, 2023
Provincial Information Author: Heron, Jennifer
Last Updated: Oct 14, 2005
   
References and Related Literature
Bird, C.D. et al. 1995. Alberta Butterflies. The Provincial Museum of Alberta, Edmonton. 349pp.
Guppy, C.S., and J.H. Shepard. 2001. Butterflies of British Columbia. UBC Press in collaboration with Royal B.C. Mus. 414pp.
Layberry, R. A., P. W. Hall, and J. D. LaFontaine. 1998. The butterflies of Canada. University of Toronto Press. 280pp. + color plates.
Scott, J. A. 2020. Butterflies of the southern Rocky Mountains area, and their natural history and behavior. Papilio. New Series 27:1-391.
 

Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.

Suggested Citation:

B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 2023. Species Summary: Erebia pawloskii. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 10, 2026).