Bright golden red; but the hindwing, also in the male, so much dusted with dark scaling that a light submarginal band contrasts with the ground.

On the underside the disc of the forewing and the submarginal band of the hindwing both cinnabar-red, contrasting with the grey ground.

South-east Europe, the eastern districts of Italy opposite the Balkan Peninsula, Asia Minor and Turkestan, extending north-westwards to Hungary, Bohemia and Saxony.

the upperside is very fiery and the dots of the median row on the hindwing beneath are larger; in the sub-alpine region of the mountains north-west of El Meshed (Persia).

The butterflies occur as tailless form in April and May, and again as omphale from July onward, flying on dry sunny hillsides, not being rare at their flight-places.