The Common Fivering is a small brown butterfly of East Asia, named for the row of little gold-ringed under its hindwings. It lives across East Asia, including Japan and Korea, and is not found in the United States.
Appearance
- Appearance
- A plain brown butterfly with black, gold-ringed eyespots. The underside of the hindwing usually has five eyespots, though some individuals have six to eight.
Look-alikes
Striated RingletYpthima multistriata
Count the eyespots under the hindwing: the Common Fivering usually has five, the Striated Ringlet three. With wings open, the Fivering shows two eyespots on the upper hindwing, the Striated Ringlet one.
Why they get mixed upA close relative living in the same parts of East Asia, with nearly the same size, color, and underside pattern.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- grassy openings
- woodland edges
- Range
- Native to Japan, Korea, China, and the Russian Far East, including the Kuril Islands. It does not occur in North America.
- Preferred conditions
- In Japan it tends to avoid very dark woods and is rarely seen in the middle of big cities.
Behavior
- Overwintering
- Spends the winter as a caterpillar.
Life cycle
- Caterpillar food plants
- Grasses; in Japan these include Japanese silver grass.
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