Code

Closed wings: Male butterflies are greyish or brown, and female brown. They have checked fimbriae. There is a dot in the forewings discal area. Large dots, out of which two are joined and separated from the rest, make a question mark. Orange spots are round and softly outlined in black.

Open wings: They can hardly ever be seen resting with stretched wing. Both sexes have checked hairs (fimbriae). Male is bright blue, and female brown with orange spots on the outer margins.

Similar species

Southern Blue: Dots are smaller, and there are no checked hairs.

Mother-of-pearl Blue: It is light brown or whitish, and without a dot in the discal area. The dots over it are smaller, and it has pointed orange spots. There are no checked fimbriae.

Chapman's Blue: It does not have a dot in the discal area. The dots over it are smaller, and it has pointed orange spots. There are no checked fimbriae.

Escher's Blue: The dot is missing from the discal area. It does not have checked fringe (fimbriae).

Spanish Chalk-hill Blue: The dots on the hindwings are smaller. There are no orange spots or their size is smaller.

Biology and Habitat

Several generations fly throughout a year, above all from March to August.

These butterflies prefer forests and well-preserved scrubland with grassland and pasture. They can often be found in less rugged areas at an altitude that goes up to 1300 m. These landscapes shelter their caterpillars' foodplants, leguminous plants that belong to Coronilla, Anthyllis and Hippocrepis families.

Distribution in the Great Path

The species is rather present along the GMP, though in small numbers and at specific places. It is scarce on the stages that reach the coast and adapted areas in the north of the province. Nevertheless, there might exist traces of some populations at places with local vegetation.