# Ringlet > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ringlet > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ringlet.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringlet > Source revision: 1334083535 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Species of butterfly This article is about the butterfly. For the hairstyle, see [Ringlet (haircut)](/source/Ringlet_(haircut)). For the town, see [Ringlet, Malaysia](/source/Ringlet%2C_Malaysia). Ringlet Conservation status Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1] Scientific classification Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Clade: Pancrustacea Class: Insecta Order: Lepidoptera Family: Nymphalidae Genus: Aphantopus Species: A. hyperantus Binomial name Aphantopus hyperantus (Linnaeus, 1758) Synonyms[2] Papilio hyperantus Linnaeus, 1758 Epinephele hyperanthus (Linnaeus, 1758) Lasiommata hyperanthus (Linnaeus, 1758) Pararge hyperanthus (Linnaeus, 1758) Satyrus hyperanthus (Linnaeus, 1758) The examples and perspective in this deal primarily with Western Europe and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. You may improve this , discuss the issue on the talk page, or create a new, as appropriate. (October 2022) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please help improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (April 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message) The **ringlet** (***Aphantopus hyperantus***) is a [butterfly](/source/Butterfly) in the family [Nymphalidae](/source/Nymphalidae). It is only one of the numerous "ringlet" butterflies in the [tribe](/source/Tribe_(biology)) [Satyrini](/source/Satyrini). ## Range Two ringlets The ringlet is a widely distributed species found throughout much of the [Palearctic realm](/source/Palearctic_realm). In Europe it is common in most countries but absent from northern Scandinavia, peninsular Italy (found in northern Italy), Portugal, southern and central Spain (found in [Cantabrian Mountains](/source/Cantabrian_Mountains) and the eastern [Pyrenees](/source/Pyrenees)), the Mediterranean islands and North Africa. In Greece it is found in northern regions ([Macedonia](/source/Macedonia_(Greece)), [Thessaly](/source/Thessaly)). Beyond Europe it is found across much of temperate Asia including [Russia](/source/Russia), [Siberia](/source/Siberia), [Mongolia](/source/Mongolia), [China](/source/China) and [Korea](/source/Korea). Caterpillar ## Description *Aphantopus hyperantus* and similar species in [Karl Eckstein](/source/Karl_Eckstein)'s *Die Schmetterlinge Deutschlands* Bernwood Meadows, Oxfordshire *Aphantopus hyperantus* is a medium-sized butterfly with a wingspan of up to 35 to 42 millimeters. The wing upper and lower sides are solid brown with small, yellowish-rimmed [eyespots](/source/Eyespot_(mimicry)). The newly emerged ringlet has a velvety appearance and is almost black with a white fringe to the wings. The number and size of the eyespots is variable, they may be missing on the upper wing surface. In central Europe and southern England the rare form *arete* occurs. The eggs are pale yellow when first laid, but become pale brown. The caterpillars are about 25 millimeters long. They are gray or light reddish brown and have dark, reddish brown and very fine dots. Dorsally there is a dark longitudinal line, which is widened at the segment boundaries. Toward the rear, this line is more intensely colored. The head is darker and has several faint longitudinal stripes. - ♂ - ♂ △ ### Color and wing spot variation - Newly emerged, with one spot - Fresh, with one spot - Worn specimen with two spots - Faded specimen with three spots ## Subspecies - ssp. *abaensis* Yoshino, 2003 - northwestern [Sichuan](/source/Sichuan) - ssp. *alpheois* Fruhstorfer, 1908 - [Ural](/source/Ural_(region)), western [Siberia](/source/Siberia) - ssp. *arctica* (Seitz, 1909) - northern Europe - ssp. *bieti* (Oberthür, 1884) - Sichuan and northern [Yunnan](/source/Yunnan) - ssp. *hyperantus* Linnaeus, 1758 - western Europe, the [type locality](/source/Type_locality_(biology)) is Sweden - ssp. *luti* Evans, 1915 - southeastern [Tibet](/source/Tibet) - ssp. *ocellata* (Butler, 1882) (= *amurensis* Staudinger, 1892; = *insularis* Kurentzov, 1966) - [Amur](/source/Amur_River) and [Ussuri](/source/Ussuri) - ssp. *sajana* (O. Bang-Haas, 1906) - [Sayan Mountains](/source/Sayan_Mountains) - ssp. *sibiricus* Obraztsov, 1936 - [Altai](/source/Altai_Mountains), southern [Siberia](/source/Siberia) and [Transbaikalia](/source/Transbaikalia) ## Habitat They live in grassy, moist or dry forest clearings with bushes but not in open places. There is a strong degree of attachment to woodland edges and [blackberry](/source/Blackberry) bushes. The insect can also be very common where there are creeping thistles (*[Cirsium arvense](/source/Cirsium_arvense)*) or swamp thistles (*[Cirsium palustre](/source/Cirsium_palustre)*), oregano (*[Origanum vulgare](/source/Origanum_vulgare)*), forest scabious (*[Knautia sylvatica](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Knautia_sylvatica&action=edit&redlink=1)*), or hogweed (*[Heracleum sphondylium](/source/Heracleum_sphondylium)*) which are favorite food plants of the imagos. The males fly in search of newly hatched females in slow, uninterrupted flight and flutter round, about and between grass stems. ## Flight period A single brood butterfly, the imagines fly from mid-June to late August. ## Food of the larva The caterpillars feed on many grasses. Among the food plants are: - *[Brachypodium sylvaticum](/source/Brachypodium_sylvaticum)* - *[Brachypodium pinnatum](/source/Brachypodium_pinnatum)* - *[Phleum pratense](/source/Phleum_pratense)* - *[Dactylis glomerata](/source/Dactylis_glomerata)* - *[Festuca rubra](/source/Festuca_rubra)* - *[Bromus erectus](/source/Bromus_erectus)* - *[Bromus hordeaceus](/source/Bromus_hordeaceus)* - *[Cynosurus cristatus](/source/Cynosurus_cristatus)* - *[Poa pratensis](/source/Poa_pratensis)* - *[Poa nemoralis](/source/Poa_nemoralis)* - *[Carex hirta](/source/Carex_hirta)* - *[Carex strigosa](/source/Carex_strigosa)* - *[Carex sylvatic](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Carex_sylvatic&action=edit&redlink=1)* - *[Carex brizoides](/source/Carex_brizoides)* - *[Carex panice](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Carex_panice&action=edit&redlink=1)* - *[Agrostis capillaris](/source/Agrostis_capillaris)* - *[Lilium effusum](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lilium_effusum&action=edit&redlink=1)* - *[Agropyron repens](/source/Agropyron_repens)* - *[Holcus mollis](/source/Holcus_mollis)* - *[Holcus lanatus](/source/Holcus_lanatus)* - *[Deschampsia cespitosa](/source/Deschampsia_cespitosa)* - *[Molinia caerulea](/source/Molinia_caerulea)* - *[Arrhenatherum elatius](/source/Arrhenatherum_elatius)* - *[Calamagrostis epigejos](/source/Calamagrostis_epigejos)* ## Development and biology The female scatters non-adhesive eggs in a slow low flight over grasslands. The larva is nocturnal. There are four moults. The larva hibernates while in the third [instar](/source/Instar), breaking [diapause](/source/Diapause) to feed on warm winter evenings. Feeding resumes in the spring. The pupa stands generally upright in a flimsy silk cocoon, at the base of a grass tussock. This stage lasts for two weeks. *A. hyperantus* is generally considered to have a closed population structure since it occurs in small, well-defined populations. ## Etymology Hyperantus, of Greek mythology, was one of the 50 sons of [Aegyptus](/source/Aegyptus), killed by one of the 50 [daughters of Danaus](/source/Daughters_of_Danaus).[3] ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-iucn_1-0)** van Swaay, C.; Ellis, S.; Warren, M. (2025). ["*Aphantopus hyperantus* (Europe assessment)"](https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/174327/211412108). *[IUCN Red List of Threatened Species](/source/IUCN_Red_List)*. **2025** e.T174327A211412108. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.2305/IUCN.UK.2025-1.RLTS.T174327A211412108.en](https://doi.org/10.2305%2FIUCN.UK.2025-1.RLTS.T174327A211412108.en). Retrieved 21 January 2026. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-INPN_2-0)** ["*Aphantopus hyperantus* (Linnaeus, 1758)"](https://inpn.mnhn.fr/espece/cd_nom/219799/tab/taxo). *Inventaire National du Patrimoine Naturel*. Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle. Retrieved 1 July 2019. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-Oates2015_3-0)** Matthew Oates (2015). [*In Pursuit of Butterflies: A Fifty-year Affair*](https://books.google.com/books?id=X8QJCAAAQBAJ&pg=PT43). Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 43. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-4729-2451-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-4729-2451-3). - Tom Tolman, Richard Lewington *The Butterflies of Europe and Northwest Africa*. Nabu-Kosmos, Stuttgart 1998, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [3-440-07573-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/3-440-07573-7) - Heiko Bellmann *Der neue Kosmos-Schmetterlingsführer, Schmetterlinge, Raupen und Futterpflanzen*. Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 2003 [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [3-440-09330-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/3-440-09330-1) - Günter Ebert, Erwin Rennwald (Hrsg.) Tagfalter. 2. Spezieller Teil: Satyridae, Libytheidae, Lycaenidae, Hesperiidae. In: *Die Schmetterlinge Baden-Württembergs*. 1. Auflage. Band 2, Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 1991, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [3-8001-3459-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/3-8001-3459-4) ## External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Aphantopus hyperantus](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Aphantopus_hyperantus). - [Eurobutterflies Matt Rowlings](http://www.eurobutterflies.com/species_pages/hyperantus.htm) - [Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa](http://www.leps.it/indexjs.htm?SpeciesPages/AphanHyper.htm) - [UK Butterflies](http://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/species.php?species=hyperantus) Taxon identifiers Aphantopus hyperantus Wikidata: Q161520 Wikispecies: Aphantopus hyperantus BioLib: 51679 BOLD: 26858 CoL: 92TTF EoL: 134509 EPPO: APHPHY EUNIS: 90685 Fauna Europaea: 441309 Fauna Europaea (new): d7380ba9-a61f-4296-bab8-a668d48b3377 GBIF: 1896841 iNaturalist: 62426 IRMNG: 10743224 IUCN: 174327 LepIndex: 137912 LoB: 5473 MaBENA: AphanHyper NBN: NHMSYS0000501120 NCBI: 111886 Observation.org: 713 Open Tree of Life: 495344 --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ringlet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringlet) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringlet?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.