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Common Blue Butterfly

This butterfly was photographed in Ballynafagh Lake in August 2014. The ‘Common Blue’ butterfly is the most common of the Blues found in Ireland. It has a wingspan of 29 – 35mm and it is tightly tied to dense stands of its food plants i.e., the Bird's Foot Trefoil and the Common Restharrow. The male is a very attractive shiny blue, whereas the female is mainly brown with her underside being very decorative, with orange crescents and black spots. The colour of the upperwings of females varies from almost completely brown in southern England to predominantly blue in the west of Ireland, but the colour is variable within local populations with some striking examples. With experience and a good eye most individuals can be found usually resting on dried grass stems, facing down and with the wings closed but one side facing towards the sun to absorb as much heat as possible before the sun finally sets. The males fly around their host plants in order to find females. The green caterpillars (10mm in length) are quite flattened in appearance with a shiny black head, secrete nutrient-containing substances that attract ants and in turn, the ants protect the caterpillars from predators.

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Filename
Common Blue Butterfly-1.jpg
Copyright
Copyright © 2016 Chris Connolly - All Right Reserved.
Image Size
5280x3477 / 1.9MB
Contained in galleries
Macro : Wildlife
This butterfly was photographed in Ballynafagh Lake in August 2014. The ‘Common Blue’ butterfly is the most common of the Blues found in Ireland. It has a wingspan of 29 – 35mm and it is tightly tied to dense stands of its food plants i.e., the Bird's Foot Trefoil and the Common Restharrow. The male is a very attractive shiny blue, whereas the female is mainly brown with her underside being very decorative, with orange crescents and black spots. The colour of the upperwings of females varies from almost completely brown in southern England to predominantly blue in the west of Ireland, but the colour is variable within local populations with some striking examples. With experience and a good eye most individuals can be found usually resting on dried grass stems, facing down and with the wings closed but one side facing towards the sun to absorb as much heat as possible before the sun finally sets. The males fly around their host plants in order to find females. The green caterpillars (10mm in length) are quite flattened in appearance with a shiny black head, secrete nutrient-containing substances that attract ants and in turn, the ants protect the caterpillars from predators.