Hipparchia semele

The Grayling is a species in the brush-footed butterfly family Nymphalidae.

It is found in Europe below 63°N eastwards to extreme Western Russia. It is absent from Albania, Macedonia and South Greece.In the north of its range it is coastal for some reason and in the South of its range it is replaced by other ''Hipparchia'' species. They are only slightly different and together with ''semele'' form a cryptic species complex - ''Hipparchia aristaeus'', ''Hipparchia christenseni'', ''Hipparchia.. more