Oeneis polixenes
# Oeneis polixenes

Oeneis polixenes, the Polixenes Arctic or Norique Alpin, is a species of butterfly in the subfamily Satyrinae. It has a Circumpolar distribution occurring in northern parts of North America the Arctic Urals, Kamtchatka, Yakutia, Chukchi Peninsula, and northern Siberia.

## Description

The wingspan is 33–51 mm. The dorsal wings are dark grey brown, with orange patches near the wing margins. The upperside of the hindwings are a darker grey medially.

## Distribution

O. polixenes occurs in northern Canada from coastal Newfoundland to the Yukon.

## Subspecies

Listed alphabetically:

* O. p. antonovae Lukhtanov, 1989 – northern Siberia (Gyda Peninsula, Taimyr Peninsula, Wrangel Island)
* O. p. yukonensis Gibson, 1920 – south western Yukon
* O. p. beringiana Kurentzov, 1970 – eastern Chukot Region
* O. p. katahdin (Newcomb, 1901) – Maine (Mt. Katahdin)
* O. p. luteus Troubridge & Parshall, 1988 – Manitoba, Alberta, British Columbia, Northwest Territories, Yukon, Alaska
* O. p. peartiae (Edwards, 1897) – Baffin
* O. p. polixenes – Labrador, Quebec
* O. p. subhyalina (Curtis, 1835) – Arctic Canada
* O. p. woodi Troubridge & Parshall, 1988 – Arctic coast (Yukon, Alaska)
* O. p. yukonensis Gibson, 1920 – south western Yukon

## Similar species

* Philip's Arctic (O. rosovi)
* White-veined Arctic (O. bore)
* Melissa Arctic (O. melissa)
