Oeneis melissa

Oeneis melissa, the Melissa Arctic, is a species of butterfly in the family Nymphalidae.

Oeneis melissa
As Hipparchia semidea by Titian Peale
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Nymphalidae
Genus:	Oeneis
Species:	O. melissa
Binomial name
Oeneis melissa (Fabricius, 1775)
Synonyms
Papilio melissa Fabricius, 1775 Oeneis beanii Elwes, 1893 Oeneis arctica Gibson, 1920 Oeneis simulans Gibson, 1920 Hipparchia semidea Say, 1828 Oeneis eritiosa Harris Oeneis aeno Boisduval Oeneis nigra (Edwards, 1894) Oeneis daisetsuzana Matsumura, 1926

The wingspan is 42–51 mm.

The larvae feed on various sedges, including Carex bigelowii and Carex rupestris.

Oeneis melissa daizetsuzana, Japan

Subspecies

• Oeneis melissa melissa (Newfoundland, Labrador)
• Oeneis melissa also (Boisduval, [1833]) (Polar Urals, Arctic Asia, Taymur, Chukot Peninsula, Kamchatka, Wrangel Island)
• Oeneis melissa orientalis Kurentzov, 1970 (eastern Yakutia, Magadan)
• Oeneis melissa daizetsuzana Matsumura, 1926 (Japan)
• Oeneis melissa semidea (Say, 1828) (New Hampshire)
• Oeneis melissa semplei Holland, 1931 (Quebec, inner Labrador, Hudson Bay)
• Oeneis melissa assimilis Butler, 1868 (Northwest Territories)
• Oeneis melissa gibsoni Holland, 1931 (Alaska, Yukon, northern British Columbia)
• Oeneis melissa beanii Elwes, 1893 (Alberta, British Columbia, Washington, Montana, Wyoming)
• Oeneis melissa lucilla Barnes & McDunnough, 1918
• Oeneis melissa karae Kusnezov, 1925 (polar tundra of northern Siberia)