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False Baton Blue. Scolitantides abencerragus (Pierret, 1837)

Diputación de Málaga
055 Abencerraje

False Baton Blue. Scolitantides abencerragus (Pierret, 1837)

Present
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Safe appearance Probable appearance
MediosLand
Animal Life > Butterflies

Wingspan: From 1.6 to 2.2 cm.

Code

Closed wings: They have grey background, with a series of dots which form an arch on the forewings. Above them, another series of spots make a wider arch and have white colour above them. A long spot in discal area has a dot underneath. There is a series of dots in the shape of an angle on the hindwings. The penultimate dot is closer to the outer part of the wing, and completes a question mark. Above the last series of dots, there are flat or round black spots with orange, white and black colour over them. There are checked hairs (fimbriae) in the shape of a T on the outer margin of the wings.

Open wings: This species can hardly ever be seen with stretched wings. Both sexes are dark brown with many blue scales, which are more scattered around and more numerous in the case of male butterflies. The spot in the discal area has white colour around it.

Similar species

Dark Grass Blue / African Grass Blue: There are no black spots that stand out on the wings between the series of dots and the outer margin. The spots are vague and difficult to be seen. There is no dot which completes a question mark and it is separated from the rest of dots on the hindwings.

Panoptes Blue: It has a series of flat triangular spots between the outer margin and the main series of dots on the forewings and on the hindwings. The fimbriae on the forewings are rather wide at the bottom, so they do not have the shape of a T. When it stretches the wings the spot in discal area is not outlined in white.

Biology and Habitat

There is only one generation a year that flies from March to June, above all, in April and May.

The species is common in open area, such as woodland or forests, scrubland, grassland, almond and abandoned olive groves with little amount of biocide. It mainly lives on lower hills or relatively flat areas, and at the foot of the mountains. It is scarcer in the mountains and higher slopes, from an altitude of 300 to 1200 m. Its caterpillars feed on the Cleonia lusitanica.

Distribution in the Great Path

It has been spotted along the stages in the inland of the province, where it lives close to oak forests, olive groves and scrubland at the foot of the hills, slopes or mountains. Its habitat and foodplant also exist at some routes in the inland and in the Serranía de Ronda, so these butterflies can probably be found along the GMP, from stage 10 to 26. Some of its isolated populations might exist in the Tejeda Mountains as well.