Circumpolar
Guides
Alopecosa hirtipes
Alopecosa hirtipes is an Arctic wolf spider (family Lycosidae) distributed across northern North America and Eurasia. The species has been studied for its reproductive biology, with research documenting correlations between female body size, mass, and clutch characteristics. As a ground-dwelling lycosid, it inhabits tundra and cold-adapted habitats where it exhibits typical wolf spider behaviors including maternal care of egg sacs.
Apomyelois
knot-horn moths
Apomyelois is a genus of small pyralid moths in the subfamily Phycitinae, established by Carl Heinrich in 1956. The genus contains approximately six described species with notably divergent ecologies: some are agricultural pests of stored products and fruit crops, while others are specialized fungus-feeders in woodland habitats. Taxonomic boundaries remain contested, particularly regarding the placement of the carob moth, which some authorities classify as Ectomyelois ceratoniae.
Apomyelois bistriatella
Heath Knot-horn
A small pyralid moth (wingspan 15–25 mm) with a circumpolar distribution across North America and northern Eurasia. Adults are active from May to September, with peak flight in June–July. Larvae are specialized fungivores that develop within Daldinia and Hypoxylon fungi growing on burnt or dead woody plants, particularly gorse and birch. Colonies are ephemeral and shift location based on the availability of suitable host fungi.
Bombus cryptarum
cryptic bumblebee, Cryptic Bumble Bee
Bombus cryptarum is a widespread bumblebee species native to the northern hemisphere, occurring across Europe, Asia, and western North America. It belongs to the subgenus Bombus sensu stricto, a species complex of morphologically similar and difficult-to-distinguish bees. The species was only recently confirmed in the British Isles and its complete distribution remains unclear due to ongoing taxonomic uncertainties. Several subspecies have been described, including the endangered B. cryptarum florilegus in Japan and the recently described B. cryptarum pallidocinctus.
Bombus polaris
Polar Bumble Bee
Bombus polaris is a social Arctic bumble bee adapted to extreme cold environments, occurring above the Arctic Circle in circumpolar regions. It possesses specialized thermoregulatory abilities, dense insulating hair, and constructs heavily insulated nests to survive near-freezing temperatures. The species has an accelerated colony cycle compressed into a short growing season of two to three months. It serves as a critical early-season pollinator in Arctic ecosystems and is the primary host for two social parasite species, Bombus hyperboreus and Bombus natvigi.
Erebia rossii
Ross's Alpine, Arctic Alpine
Erebia rossii is a circumpolar butterfly species in the family Nymphalidae, subfamily Satyrinae. It occurs in Arctic and subarctic regions of North America and Eurasia. The species shows sexual dimorphism in eyespot patterns and has been documented with multiple subspecies across its broad range.
Miscodera
A monotypic genus of ground beetles (Carabidae) containing only Miscodera arctica. The genus has a circumpolar Arctic distribution with disjunct populations in northern New England. Its taxonomic placement has been historically disputed, currently assigned to subfamily Broscinae though formerly placed in Trechinae.
Nemophora bellela
Nemophora bellela is a circumpolar micro-moth in the family Adelidae, notable as the only species of its genus in North America and the sole circumpolar member of Nemophora. Adults have a wingspan of 17–20 mm and are active in June and July in northern Europe. Later instar larvae are case-dwelling and feed on detritus on the ground in peat bog and tundra habitats.
Oeneis bore
white-veined Arctic, Arctic grayling
Oeneis bore is a circumpolar butterfly in the subfamily Satyrinae, occurring across Arctic regions of North America and Eurasia. It inhabits cold, open environments including tundra, taiga, and alpine slopes. The species exhibits sexual dimorphism in wing coloration and is univoltine with a two-year life cycle in many populations. Larvae feed on sedges and grasses, while adults nectar on available flowers.
Pterostichus brevicornis
Woodland ground beetle
Pterostichus brevicornis is a circumpolar ground beetle in the family Carabidae, subgenus Cryobius. It is one of the most abundant and widespread tundra beetles, occurring across Arctic and Subarctic regions from Newfoundland to the Kola Peninsula and Arctic Ocean islands. The species exhibits high genetic and morphological variability across its range, with 23 documented COI haplotypes. It is cold-adapted with a two-year life cycle involving summer breeding and winter hibernation of both adults and larvae.
Vicelva vandykei
Vicelva vandykei is a small rove beetle (Staphylinidae) described by Hatch in 1957. The species is known from limited specimens and observations across a broad circumpolar distribution spanning northwestern North America and the Russian Far East. Records indicate presence in British Columbia, Yukon, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and the Magadan area of Russia. As a member of the subfamily Phloeocharinae, it is associated with forest floor habitats and decaying organic matter.