Alexis blue
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Alexis Bluebell ( Glaucopsyche alexis ), male |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Glaucopsyche alexis | ||||||||||||
| ( Poda , 1761) |
The Alexis blue ( Glaucopsyche alexis ) is a butterfly ( butterfly ) from the family of the blue (Lycaenidae).
features
The Alexis blue is a relatively large blue that can be distinguished from other species by the metallic green pollination on the gray underside of the wing. The upper sides of the wings of the females are monochrome dark brown and can occasionally be pollinated blue. The upper sides of the wings of the males are colored blue and have a black, white border.
Similar species
- Glaucopsyche melanops (Boisduval, 1828) Southwestern Europe
- Glaucopsyche paphos (Chapman, 1920)Treatedas a subspecies of Glaucopsyche melanops by some authors.
distribution
The Alexis blue is common throughout most of Europe, including Fennoscandia , Corsica , Sicily , Corfu, and other Greek islands. In Algeria , the species occurs only rarely and locally in Saida , Aflou , Batna , Khenchela , Coverdo , Col de Ben-Chiacao and Lambessa . In Tunisia it occurs in the area around Hammamet . It is absent from the Atlantic Islands, Portugal , western Spain, Great Britain , the Netherlands, northern Germany, the Baltic States , the Balearic Islands , Sardinia and Crete .
Habitat
The species loves warmth and prefers near-natural, poor areas, especially on steep slopes.
Way of life
Flight time
The Alexis blue flies in one generation from May to June. Under favorable climatic conditions, a second partial generation can be formed from late July to August.
behavior
The caterpillar forage plants include:
- Dyer's gorse ( Genista tinctoria )
- Yellow sweet clover ( Melilotus officinalis )
- White sweet clover ( Melilotus alba )
- Alfalfa ( Medicago sativa )
- Sickle snail ( Medicago falcata )
- Tragacanth ( Astragalus spec. )
- Common-crown vetch ( Securigera varia )
- Lining Esparsette ( Onobrychis viccifolia )
- Bird vetch ( Vicia cracca )
The caterpillars are usually greenish or dark pink and brownish piebald and tend to turn white before pupation. The pupa hibernates. In addition to a second partial generation, the possibility of overwintering as a caterpillar, which in Central Europe is limited to the Kaiserstuhl and its surroundings, is also being discussed .
The food plants of the butterfly have so far only been insufficiently recorded. Are known sainfoin , trefoil , horseshoe vetch , Lathyrus pratensis and tragacanth. In addition, moths have also been observed sucking on moist soil or river sand.
Hazard and protection
- Red List FRG: 3
swell
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Tom Tolman, Richard Lewington: The butterflies of Europe and Northwest Africa . Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-440-07573-7 , p. 87 .
- ↑ Butterfly. 2. Special part: Satyridae, Libytheidae, Lycaenidae, Hesperiidae . In: Günter Ebert, Erwin Rennwald (eds.): The butterflies of Baden-Württemberg . 1st edition. tape 2 . Ulmer, Stuttgart (Hohenheim) 1991, ISBN 3-8001-3459-4 , pp. 278 .
- ↑ Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Ed.): Red List of Endangered Animals in Germany . Landwirtschaftsverlag, Münster 1998, ISBN 3-89624-110-9 .
literature
- Hans-Josef Weidemann: Butterflies: observe, determine . Naturbuch-Verlag, Augsburg 1995, ISBN 3-89440-115-X .
- Manfred Koch : We determine butterflies. Volume 1: Butterfly. 4th enlarged edition. Neumann, Radebeul / Berlin 1966, DNB 457244224 .
Web links
- www.lepiforum.de Photos and taxonomy
- www.schmetterling-raupe.de
- Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa (English)
- Glaucopsyche (Glaucopsyche) alexis at Fauna Europaea. Retrieved February 28, 2011