Dark blue alps

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Dark blue alps
Arctic Blue, Bonavista.jpg

Dark blue alps ( Plebejus glandon )

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Family : Bluebirds (Lycaenidae)
Subfamily : Lycaeninae
Genre : Plebeian
Type : Dark blue alps
Scientific name
Plebeian glandon
( Prunner , 1798)
Wing underside

The dark alpine blue ( Plebejus glandon , often incorrectly written as Plebeius glandon ) is a butterfly ( butterfly ) from the family of the blue lice (Lycaenidae).

features

butterfly

The moths reach a wingspan of about 21 to 25 millimeters. The upper sides of the wings are colored silver-blue in the males and become increasingly brown towards the edges. The females have almost monochrome brown tints with a slightly bluish pollination in the basal region . The extent of the obscuration of the top increases in higher mountain areas. All wings usually have small, dark discal spots, which are sometimes surrounded by white. Both sexes show white-bordered black points on the otherwise pale gray-brown underside of the wing underside of the forewings, while the underside of the hind wings shows conspicuous white spots and occasionally orange-colored points on the gray-brown underside of the wing. Despite a large, geographically determined variability in the drawing of the wing undersides, the species can be easily distinguished from other types of bluish.

Caterpillar, pupa

The adult caterpillars are deep green in color and have short, thick, black hairs. There is a chain of red spots on the back. They also have dark horizontal lines and red / white divided side stripes on the sides. The pupa is gray-brown to yellow-brown in color, has light segment incisions and gray-brown wing sheaths.

Occurrence

The dark blue alps occurs in mountainous areas of the Sierra Nevada , the Pyrenees , the Alps , also in the north of Fennoscandinavia and in arctic regions of the Urals , Siberia , Asia and North America . The altitude distribution includes z. B. 2500 to 3000 meters in the Sierra Nevada, 1800 to 2700 meters in the Alps and 50 to 900 meters in Finland . The preferred habitat are short grass areas on rocky ground and scree slopes with sparse vegetation.

Way of life

The moths appear in one generation from June to August. They fly in low, fast flight over barren areas with little vegetation to the snow line and occasionally absorb liquid in damp spots. The caterpillars eat differently from region to region. The main forage crops include:

Young caterpillars mine in the fleshy leaves of the forage plants and overwinter small. After overwintering, they feed on flowers, fruits and leaves. During the day they hide under stones. Pupation also takes place there.

Hazard and protection

In Germany the species occurs only in the Bavarian Alps and is classified on the red list of endangered species in category R (species with geographical restriction).

swell

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Plebejus Kluk, 1802 is in the Official Lists and Indexes of Names in Zoology as a valid name for this genus PDF
  2. ↑ Walter Forster, Theodor A. Wohlfahrt: The butterflies of Central Europe. Volume 2: Butterflies. (Rhopalocera and Hesperiidae). Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1955, DNB 456642188 .
  3. ↑ a b Tom Tolman, Richard Lewington: The butterflies of Europe and Northwest Africa . Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-440-07573-7 .
  4. ↑ Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Ed.): Red List of Endangered Animals in Germany . Landwirtschaftsverlag, Münster 1998, ISBN 3-89624-110-9 .

literature

  • Tom Tolman, Richard Lewington: The butterflies of Europe and Northwest Africa . Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-440-07573-7 .
  • Walter Forster , Theodor A. Wohlfahrt : The butterflies of Central Europe. Volume 2: Butterflies. (Rhopalocera and Hesperiidae). Franckh'sche Verlagshandlung, Stuttgart 1955, DNB 456642188 .

Web links

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