Sky-blue blues
| Sky-blue blues | ||||||||||||
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Himmelblauer Bläuling ( Polyommatus bellargus ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Polyommatus bellargus | ||||||||||||
| ( Rottemburg , 1775) |
The Sky Blue Bläuling ( polyommatus (Meleageria) bellargus or Lysandra bellargus ) is a butterfly ( butterfly ) from the family of Bläulinge (lycaenidae).
features
The wingspan of the moth is between 30 and 40 millimeters. The wing tops of the females are brown, as in many species of the bluebells, while those of the males are bright blue. The species owes its name to the intense blue. The blue upper side of the wings of the males has a fine, black border line and white fringes on the outer edges, which have brown spots at the level of the wing veins . The hind wings have small, dark edge points. The underside of the wing is light brown to gray-brown with light-rimmed black and orange spots in the submarginal region . The males are variable in their coloration, so that they sometimes have a greenish tinge.
The upper side of the wings of the females is brown, partly covered with blue, especially towards the basal region . On the edge of the hind wings and rarely also on the forewings there are strong orange spots, which on the hind wings also have a white U-shaped arch to the wing edge.
The drawings of the moth are stronger in their southern distribution area in both sexes.
The caterpillar is colored green with yellow stripes.
Similar species
- Silver-green bluish ( Polyommatus coridon )
- European blue tooth ( Polyommatus icarus ). In both sexes, the brown spots on the white fringes are missing. The male has no dark marginal points on the hind wings.
- Polyommatus punctifera , found in North Africa . The male of Polyommatus punctifera has thicker spots on the hind wings.
Flight time
The sky-blue blue-blue flies in two generations from mid-May to June and late July to mid-September. In Chelmos Mountains in Greece only one generation is known.
habitat
The species is found mainly in the mountains on sunny, poor meadows and dry slopes at altitudes of 100 to 2000 meters.
Way of life
The horseshoe clover ( Hippocrepis comosa ) and red vetch Coronilla varia are the main food of the caterpillars. The caterpillar lives myrmekophil with ants of Myrmica , Lasius , Tapinoma and Plagiolepis . The eggs are laid on leaves. The young caterpillar overwinters. In April of the following year, it then develops further until pupation. Pupation often takes place under stones, leaves or moss near the ant burrows. The species hybridizes with Polyommatus coridon and Polyommatus Hispana possibly also with Polyommatus philippi
distribution
The sky-blue bluish is widespread in southern and central Europe up to 55 ° north latitude. From the Mediterranean coasts and the European part of Turkey to the south of England and Lithuania . It is rare in southern Spain and absent in northern Belgium , the Netherlands and northern Germany as well as in southern Italy south of Naples and in southern Greece and on the Mediterranean islands except Mallorca . It is extinct in Latvia and only one report is known from Northwest Africa from the Rif Atlas . He also inhabits the Asian part of Turkey up to Iraq and Iran as well as the Caucasus and Transcaucasia .
status
Red list FRG: 3 (endangered)
swell
Individual evidence
- ↑ Elizabeth Balmer: Butterflies: Recognize and Determine. Parragon Books Ltd., 2007, ISBN 9781407512037 , pp. 86-87
- ↑ Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (Ed.): Red List of Endangered Animals in Germany . Landwirtschaftsverlag, Münster 1998, ISBN 3-89624-110-9 .
literature
- Butterflies. 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 .
- Manfred Koch : We determine butterflies. Volume 1: Butterfly. 4th enlarged edition. Neumann, Radebeul / Berlin 1966, DNB 457244224 .
- Tom Tolman, Richard Lewington: The butterflies of Europe and Northwest Africa . Franckh-Kosmos, Stuttgart 1998, ISBN 3-440-07573-7 .
- Hans-Josef Weidemann: Butterflies: observe, determine . Naturbuch-Verlag, Augsburg 1995, ISBN 3-89440-115-X .
Web links
- www.lepiforum.de Taxonomy and photos
- Species portraits of butterflies in Rhineland-Palatinate - Himmelblauer Bläuling
- www.schmetterling-raupe.de
- Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa (English)
- Polyommatus (Lysandra) bellargus in Fauna Europaea. Retrieved March 2, 2011