Melitaea phoebe var. alatauica, Wagner, 1913

Russell, Peter J. C., Lukhtanov, Vladimir A. & Tennent, W. John, 2022, Reassessment of the status of some European and Asian Melitaea taxa described as subspecies of Melitaea phoebe ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775), with designations of lectotypes where appropriate (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae), Zootaxa 5141 (1), pp. 25-38 : 31

M. phoebe var. alatauica Wagner, 1913

[TL: Kazakhstan, Taldi Kurgan and mountains near Issyk-Kul Lake and Ili River], name preoccupied by M. parthenie alatauica Staudinger, 1881 . The name was replaced by M. phoebe wagneri Wnukowsky, 1929 . Male specimens of this variety together with typical M. phoebe were figured by Wagner (1913: 89, figs 5 & 6), exemplifying the heavy post discal black spotting, differentiating it from typical M. phoebe . This variety is included here because Higgins (1941: 338) suggested it might be referable to M. sibina . It was noted above that Tóth & Varga (2011) were unable to separate these two species; however, the present authors accept the taxon sibina at species level.