Malagasy Skipper Butterfly vs Mountain Ringlet

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Malagasy Skipper Butterfly Mountain Ringlet
Scientific Name Heteropsis narcissus Erebia epiphron
Order Lepidoptera Lepidoptera
Family Nymphalidae Nymphalidae
Size 35-45 mm wingspan 32-38 mm wingspan
Habitat Forests Mountains
Diet Sap Feeders Omnivores
Regions Madagascar Mountain ranges of Europe (Alps, Pyrenees, Scotland, Lake District)
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern (vulnerable to climate change)

Malagasy Skipper Butterfly

A small satyrinae butterfly with brown wings marked by subtle eyespots along the wing margins. It flies low through forest undergrowth with a characteristic bobbing flight pattern.

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Did You Know?

The genus Heteropsis is entirely endemic to Madagascar, representing a unique lineage of satyr butterflies found nowhere else on Earth.

Mountain Ringlet

A small dark brown butterfly with orange-ringed eyespots found only at high altitudes. In Britain it is the only truly alpine butterfly, flying above 500 metres.

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Did You Know?

It only flies in sunshine and immediately drops into the grass the moment a cloud covers the sun.