Blues (Lycaenidae)
The blues are a very variable genus of butterflies. They are usually very difficult to identify from pictures alone, as both the upper and lower sides are needed for identification. Please refer to the Lepiforum for identification.
Common blue (Polyommatus icarus)
The most common blue butterfly is the “common blue.” This species is found throughout Europe, parts of North Africa, and Asia. It has a wingspan of between 25 and 30 mm.
The food plants of the common blue butterfly include various types of clover, thorny restharrow, and crown vetch. The butterflies fly from late April to October. The caterpillars can be found on various types of clover and thorny restharrow. They overwinter in caterpillar form on the plants.
The males of this blue butterfly are distinctly blue on the upper side. The females are brownish in color.
Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus)
The holly blue is mainly found in Central Europe. Both the males and females of this butterfly species have light blue upper wings. The females can only be distinguished by their more pronounced black wing markings. It is not possible to determine the sex based on the underside of the wings alone! They have a wingspan of between 20 and 25 mm. The caterpillars feed on plants such as purple loosestrife and alder buckthorn.
Mazarine blue (Cyaniris semiargus)
The male mazarine blue is very similar in color to the female holly blue on the upper side (due to the black border). However, the underside differs significantly between the two butterfly species. The underside of the grey hairstreak is light blue, while that of the red-veined white is brownish. The upper side of the female butterflies is dark brown in color.
