Celastrina argiolus Linnaeus, 1758
Common names : Holly Blue [En], Azuré des nerpruns, Argus à bande noire [Fr], Boomblauwtje [Nl], Faulbaum-Bläuling [De], Απαλός άργος [Gr], Kutsal Mavi [Tu]

Meise, BRABANT ● Belgium

Description: The ground colour of the underside is distinctly silvery blue, with a postmedian row of elongated black spots on forewing and a postmedian row of round spots on hindwing. The forewing fringes are chequered.
There is a marked sexual dimorphism. The upperside of the male is sky blue with a narrow black border. On the female the black border is very broad.

Biology: Unusually for the blues, it is typically seen flying around shrubs, bushes and trees. It rarely opens its wings at rest.
It flies in two or three broods, in March-June and in June-August and then in September-October. It is one of the first butterflies to emerge at spring.
Larvae are polyphagous feeding on woody shrubs and various herbaceous plants.
Habitat: Woodland clearings, parks and gardens.

Distribution: North Africa and Europe except Northern UK and Northern Scandinavia, Western Asia. Currently expanding northwards, in the UK at least.

References:
Baytaş A., 2007. A field guide to the butterflies of Turkey, NTV Yayınları, Istanbul.

Created on

Saturday 10 July 2010

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Belgium

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• Lepidoptera / Lycaenidae / Polyommatinae

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