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Welcome to Daves Moth and Butterfly World
- Species Name: Common Blue |
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Welcome to Dave McCormick's Moth and Butterfly World. Here is information the Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) . Hear Scientific Name
Go Back t o Polyommatinae PageGo to Thumbnail Species Index Information
This butterfly is Britain's (and probably Europe's) most common and
most widespread blue, found as far north as Orkney and on most of the
Outer Hebrides in Scotland. Males are often very obvious as they defend territories
against rivals and search out the more reclusive females. A range of
grassland habitats are used: meadows, coastal dunes, woodland clearings
and also many man made habitats, anywhere where their food plants are
found. Recently, this species was discovered in Mirabel, Quebec, Canada by Ara Sarafian. An amateur entomologist, he had been observing the butterfly from 2005 to 2008. He contacted the Canadian National Collection of Insects in Ottawa where the butterfly was identified as P. icarus, a new alien butterfly to Canada and North America. The butterfly seems to be well established and is extending its range from year to year. Similar Species Chalkhill Blue (Polyommatus Coridon), Adonis Blue (Polyommatus Bellargus), Brown Argus (Aricia Agestis) is like female Common Blue. Known Aberrations To Be Completed. Adult Images Male uppersides are an iridescent lilac blue with a thin black border. Females are brown with a row of red spots along the edges. They usually have some blue at the base of the wings and quite often, especially in Ireland and Scotland, are mostly blue but always have the red spots. Undersides have a greyish ground colour in the males and more brownish in the females. Both sexes have a row of red spots along the edge of the hindwings (extending onto the forewings though generally fainter, particularly in the males where they are sometimes missing altogether). Mating Images None Caterpillar Images
The caterpillar is small, pale green with
yellow stripes and as usual with lycid caterpillars, rather slug-like.
Hibernation occurs as a half grown caterpillar. They are attractive
to ants but not as much as some other species of blues.
The caterpillars are sometimes attended
by ants and moved into their nest. The caterpillars secrete a
substance called honey dew, which the ants eat while the butterfly
lives in the ant nest. Pupae Images The chrysalis is olive green/brown and formed on the ground where it is attended by ants which will often take it into their nests. Forms Pages Caerulea Subspecies Pages icarusmariscolore Aberrations None Videos Pages None References http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_blue - Wikipedia The Moths and Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland, Volume 7 Part 1 (Hepialidae to Nymphalidae) - (c) A. Maitland Emmet and John Heath The Butterflies and Moths of Northern Ireland - (c) 2006, Robert Thompson, Brian Nelson Butterflies of Europe - (c) 2004, Tristan Lafranchis Page last edited: 23/08/2009 16:00 (c) David McCormick 2008 |