Erebia rhodopensis Nicholl, 1900

Host plants:
The larvae feed on grasses.

Habitat:
Erebia rhodopensis inhabits sunny, steep and grassy slopes above the timberline which show a mix of denser and scarcer vegetated areas.

Life cycle:
The larva hibernates twice. The adults appear from July to August and are usually very shy. I watched especially males feeding on Dianthus flowers in the Rila mountains.

Endangerment factors:
Erebia rhodopensis should be endangered only little thanks to the high altitudes. Potential threats could be climatic change and also future touristic development.

Remarks:
Erebia rhodopensis is endemic to the mountains of the Balkan peninsula (altitudes between 1800 and 2900m asl) and is close to Erebia aethiopiella (SW-Alps). Erebia rhodopensis is found especially in Bulgaria, but locally also in Macedonia, S-Serbia, S-Albania and N-Greece (on mount Grammos).