About Erebia cassioides Reiner & Hochenwarth, 1792
Erebia cassioides (Reiner & Hochenwarth, 1792), commonly called the brassy ringlet, is a small butterfly. Individuals of this species have a wingspan of 32–38 mm. Their forewings are brown with a characteristic metallic-greenish brassy shine. An orange postdiscal band is located on the forewings, with two small white-pupillated ocelli positioned near the apex. A series of small ocelli can be found on the hindwings. The underside of the forewings is orange with a brownish border, bearing two small ocelli at the apex. The underside of the hindwings is shiny, colored in a mix of silvery gray and ocher. This species is a European endemic. It is distributed across Spain (Cantabrian Mountains, Pyrenees), France (Pyrenees, Massif Central, and the western and eastern Alps), Italy, Switzerland, Romania (Carpathians), Bulgaria (Rila and Pirin Mountains), Greece, North Macedonia, and the Balkans (Serbia, Montenegro, Albania and Bosnia). It inhabits grassy slopes with stones and rocks, at altitudes ranging from 1,600 to 2,600 meters.
