Code

Closed wings: Their colour is grey, and sometimes a bit brown. On the forewings, there is a series of dots which increase in size towards the outer margin, which they later get away from. The hindwings have a series of dots which form an arch. The first one is broken at the second dot which is closer to the inner part of the wings. All wings have margins which are covered in faint white and dark spots.

Open wings: It hardly ever opens the wings. Male butterflies are bright blue with wide dark margins. Females have less blue colour on their wings.

Similar species

Lorquin’s Blue: It is smaller, as well as its dots, which are flatten on the forewings.

Holly Blue: It is light grey, although it seems whitish. There is a series of flat stepped dots on the forewings. Irregular dots can be seen on the hindwings.

Green-underside Blue: This species is the most similar to the Black-eyed Blue, but it can be distinguished easily thanks to the series of dots on the forewings, which stretch towards the margin and then away from it. Moreover, both outer margins are plain, without traces of whitish or dark spots.

Biology and Habitat

Only one generation a year flies from February to June. It is most likely to be seen from March to May, above all, in April.

It lives in all kinds of forests and scrubland where its caterpillars' foodplants, leguminous shrubs, can be found. In Málaga, its favourite foodplant is Anthyllis cytisoides, so they can be seen around it. Other species they visit are Retama sphaerocarpa, Spanish Broom (Spartium junceum), Genista hirsuta and Prostrate Canary Clover or Badassi (Dorycnium pentaphyllum).

Distribution in the Great Path

These butterflies can be seen along most GMP stages, though they are less common and limited to certain places on the coast and in the north of the province, where they do not exist on some stages.