Common Five-ring

Nymphalidae; Satyrinae; Ypthima stellera stellera Eschscholtz, 1821. Every time I take a photo of a Common Five-ring, I remember that, when I first became interested in butterflies, I could not make sense of the common name. It was only later that I found out how the rings are counted. In case someone else does not know, the rings are counted as follows. Look only at the rings on the underside of one hindwing. You should see two very small rings (often joined together) at the Tornus. They count as one ring. Then you count the other larger rings which are counted separately (joined together or not). If the total is five, then you are looking at a Common Five-ring. Don't be confused by the rings on the upper surfaces of the wings - the number of rings can vary. The same way of counting the rings applies also to the Common Three-ring butterfly.