Kirinia climene

The Iranian Argus (Kirinia climene) is a butterfly of the Nymphalidae family. It was described by Esper in 1783. It is distributed in Bulgaria, Romania, Yugoslavia, Macedonia, Turkey, Caucasus, Transcaucasia, Syria, Iraq, Iran, S.Russia. The larval host-plants are various Poaceae, including Poa annua. The species inhabits mostly forests and meadows in the elevation range from 1500 to 2300 m a.s.l. The butterflies are on wing from early July until mid August. In summer they are often observed on flowers, in hot time they prefer shaded areas under tree canopies or in high grasses.