Lycaenidae : Polyommatinae
Silver-studded Blue
PLEBEJUS argus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Subspecies
P.a.caernensis Thompson, [1937] - Great Orme Head North Wales
P.a.creaceus Tutt, 1909 - Southern counties of England - now extinct
P.a.masseyi Tutt, 1909 - Westmorland,England - now extinct
Silver-studded Blue
PLEBEJUS argus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Subspecies
P.a.caernensis Thompson, [1937] - Great Orme Head North Wales
P.a.creaceus Tutt, 1909 - Southern counties of England - now extinct
P.a.masseyi Tutt, 1909 - Westmorland,England - now extinct
Life Cycle Guide
Description
Wingspan: 26-32mm
Worldwide Distribution: Europe : Turkey : Temperate Asia : N.China : Japan
UK Distribution: A declining and rare species in Britain : Strongholds found on the heaths of Southern England,dunes of Cornwall and limestone in North Wales.
UK Conservation Status -
Flight Period: UK-July-August & June-mid July on calcareous sites-Univoltine : Elsewhere-May-June & July-August-Bivoltine
Habitat: Main habitats-lowland heath : Calcareous grasslands : Sand dunes
Ovum: The white ovum, which is shaped like a ring doughnut with a dimple in the middle and covered in intricate peaks is deposited by the female on a wide variety of foodplants, depending on site location, like young heathers,Common Rock-rose and Bird's-foot Trefoil and Gorse, where they remain all winter.They tend to use areas with fresh clearings with young vegetation in order to take advantage of the extra warmth found close to the ground. P. a. argus has a relationship with ants that is only secondary to the Large Blue and as such the ova are usually deposited close to the nests of two varieties of ants Lasius niger and L.alienus.
Larva: The Silver-studded Blue ova hatches usually towards the end of March and immediately attracts the ants who carry the young larva into their nest.It is possible that the larva feed on young plant tissue within the nest or possibly herded to feed above ground.
As the larva passes its first instar it develops secretory organs to attract the ants and by the final instar it has tentacle organsa nd dorsal nectary organ.
The sugary secretion is milked by the ants as a pay back for the protection provided.
The larva rest during the day in the ants nest and emerge at night to feed on Birds-foot Trefoil and Horseshoe Vetch attended by worker ants.
Pupa: The larva pupates within the ant nest,usually attended by the later stage larvae and are tended continuously by the ants.
Overwinters as: Ovum
Observations: The Silver-studded Blue subspecies "caernensis" can be found on the calcareous grasslands of the Great Ormes Head in Caernarvonshire, North Wales and differentiates from "argus" by being smaller and the amount of blue marking on the female.
The Silver-studded blue or "Dainty Blue" as I like to call it due to its flight and wing rubbing habit, gets its name from the row of vivid metalic blue sub-marginal studs on its hindwing.
The males are easily recognised with their resplendent blue upperside whereas the female is less conspicuous with its brown upperside.
As a variable species I have observed females on a site in Cornwall where 98% of females have strong blue markings and yet at a site barely half a mile away this number has dropped to 2%.(see females below)
On the heathland habitats in Hampshire,Dorset and Surrey the heather has to be managed to provide the preferred shorter growth for the Silver-studded Blue and this is achieved by burning,cutting and cattle grazing.
Although a localised species on some sites in southern England numbers can be counted in hundreds or even thousands.
The butterfly tends to be sedentary in nature only flying 20-50m a day on average although it has been recorded that some individuals fly as much as 1.5km from the emergence site.
With 90% of heathland gone sine the 1800's conservation bodies have come together in North West Europe under "The Heath Project" to reverse the loss, and in my area in Hampshire/Surrey I have seen tremendous improvements in heathland with de-forestation of heathland, creating corridors for the Silver-studded Blue.
Worldwide Distribution: Europe : Turkey : Temperate Asia : N.China : Japan
UK Distribution: A declining and rare species in Britain : Strongholds found on the heaths of Southern England,dunes of Cornwall and limestone in North Wales.
UK Conservation Status -
- NERC S.41 : 2008 (England) & NERC S.42 : 2009 (Wales) - Species "of principle importance for the purpose of conserving biodiversity
- Notable ( Nb - 1980/93 ) = 31 - 100 10Km Squares
- BAP : 2007 - Priority Species
- Vulnerable - Butterfly Red List for Great Britain 2010
- Fully Protected in Great Britain
- Least Concern
- Papilio argus (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Papilio argus (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Sweden
Flight Period: UK-July-August & June-mid July on calcareous sites-Univoltine : Elsewhere-May-June & July-August-Bivoltine
Habitat: Main habitats-lowland heath : Calcareous grasslands : Sand dunes
Ovum: The white ovum, which is shaped like a ring doughnut with a dimple in the middle and covered in intricate peaks is deposited by the female on a wide variety of foodplants, depending on site location, like young heathers,Common Rock-rose and Bird's-foot Trefoil and Gorse, where they remain all winter.They tend to use areas with fresh clearings with young vegetation in order to take advantage of the extra warmth found close to the ground. P. a. argus has a relationship with ants that is only secondary to the Large Blue and as such the ova are usually deposited close to the nests of two varieties of ants Lasius niger and L.alienus.
Larva: The Silver-studded Blue ova hatches usually towards the end of March and immediately attracts the ants who carry the young larva into their nest.It is possible that the larva feed on young plant tissue within the nest or possibly herded to feed above ground.
As the larva passes its first instar it develops secretory organs to attract the ants and by the final instar it has tentacle organsa nd dorsal nectary organ.
The sugary secretion is milked by the ants as a pay back for the protection provided.
The larva rest during the day in the ants nest and emerge at night to feed on Birds-foot Trefoil and Horseshoe Vetch attended by worker ants.
Pupa: The larva pupates within the ant nest,usually attended by the later stage larvae and are tended continuously by the ants.
Overwinters as: Ovum
Observations: The Silver-studded Blue subspecies "caernensis" can be found on the calcareous grasslands of the Great Ormes Head in Caernarvonshire, North Wales and differentiates from "argus" by being smaller and the amount of blue marking on the female.
The Silver-studded blue or "Dainty Blue" as I like to call it due to its flight and wing rubbing habit, gets its name from the row of vivid metalic blue sub-marginal studs on its hindwing.
The males are easily recognised with their resplendent blue upperside whereas the female is less conspicuous with its brown upperside.
As a variable species I have observed females on a site in Cornwall where 98% of females have strong blue markings and yet at a site barely half a mile away this number has dropped to 2%.(see females below)
On the heathland habitats in Hampshire,Dorset and Surrey the heather has to be managed to provide the preferred shorter growth for the Silver-studded Blue and this is achieved by burning,cutting and cattle grazing.
Although a localised species on some sites in southern England numbers can be counted in hundreds or even thousands.
The butterfly tends to be sedentary in nature only flying 20-50m a day on average although it has been recorded that some individuals fly as much as 1.5km from the emergence site.
With 90% of heathland gone sine the 1800's conservation bodies have come together in North West Europe under "The Heath Project" to reverse the loss, and in my area in Hampshire/Surrey I have seen tremendous improvements in heathland with de-forestation of heathland, creating corridors for the Silver-studded Blue.
Subspecies
P. a.argus Linnaeus, 1758-Scandinavia : British Isles
From N Portugal & N Spain across C Europe to Ural Mts. & Appenines
P. a.argus Linnaeus, 1758-Scandinavia : British Isles
From N Portugal & N Spain across C Europe to Ural Mts. & Appenines
Unspecified Aberrations
Larval Food Plants Worldwide
Note - Plants hyperlinked in red below take the visitor to the relevant plant page on"Plants for a Future" website
where further information like photos,physical
characteristics,habitats,edible uses,medicinal
uses,cultivation,propagation,range,height etc. are clearly listed.
- Plant Families - in bold red below takes the visitor to the relevant "Lepi-plants" page where other butterflies & moths using the plants below are listed.
- Asteraceae - Compositae - Aster-Daisy - Sunflower Family
- Artemesia montana - Wormwood
- Cirsium japonicum - No-Azami - Japanese Thistle
- Cirsium sieboldii - No Common Name
- Cistaceae - Rock-rose Family
- Helianthemum nummularium - Common Rockrose
- Ericaceae - Heather Family
- Calluna vulgaris - Common Heather - Ling
- Erica cinerea - Bell Heather - Heather Bell
- Erica tetralix - Bog Heather
- Vaccinium uliginosum - Bog Bilberry - Northern Bilberry
- Fabaceae - Leguminosea - The Pulse - Bean - Pea - Family
- Astragalus membranaceus - Huang Qi
- Hadysarum vicioides - No Common Name
- Hippocrepis comosa - Horseshoe Vetch
- Lotus corniculatus - Bird's-foot Trefoil - Common Bird's-foot Trefoil
- Ulex europaeus - Gorse - Furze - Whin
- Lamiaceae - Labiatae - The Mint Family
- Thymus serpyllum - Broad-Leaved Thyme - Lemon Thyme
- Polygonaceae - Docks - Sorrels - Knotweeds - Smartweeds
- Pologonum cuspidatum - Japanese Knotweed - Fleeceflower
- Note - Larvae also feed on the following plant families
- Polygonaceae - Fallopia - Bindweeds & Knotweeds
- Note - Larvae also feed on the following plant families
- Pologonum cuspidatum - Japanese Knotweed - Fleeceflower
Larval Food Plants
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Taxonomy
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Kingdom:
Subkingdom: Phylum: Subphylum Class: Order: Superfamily: Family: Subfamily: Tribe: Genus: Subgenus: Accepted Species Name: Type Species-PLEBEJUS: Original Species Name: Species Names: Literary Ref: Type Locality: Forms/Aberrations: Subspecies: |
Animalia
Eumetozoa Arthropoda Hexapoda Insecta Lepidoptera Papilionoidea Lycaenidae Polyommatinae Polyommatini PLEBEJUS Kluk,1780 argus Linnaeus, 1758 Plebejus ( argus ) argus (Linnaeus, 1758) - Papilio argus (Linnaeus, 1758) - PAPILIO argus (Linnaeus, 1758) = Plebeius argus Linnaeus, 1758 = Papilio argus Linnaeus, 1758 = sylvius Poda, 1761 = Plebjus aegon Denis & Schiffermüller,1776 = Papilio argyra Bergstrasser, 1779 = Papilio argyrophalara Bergstrasser, 1779 = Papilio argyrotoxus Bergstrasser, 1779 = Papilio philonomus Bergstrasser, 1779 = Papilio alsus Esper, 1790 = papilio aegidion Meisner 1818-considered subspecies = Lycaena aegidion Gerhard, 1853 = Plebejus hypochionus Rambur 1858-considered subspecies = Plebejus corsicus Bellier 1862-considered subspecies = Plebeius juncta Tutt, 1909 = Lycaena aegon plouharnelensis Oberthür, 1910 = Lycaena alpina Courvoisier, 1911 = Lycaeides argus orientaloides Verity, 1931 = Lycaeides argus altaegidon Verity, 1931 - Syst. Nat. (Edn 10) 1 : Title Page : p.483 n.152 - Sweden - P.a. anterocroceus Tutt, 1909 P.a. argyrotoxus Bergstrasser, 1779 P.a. basijuncta Tutt, 1909 P.a. bina Rostagno, 1906 P.a. caeca Grund, 1908 P.a. costajuncta Tutt, 1909 P.a. croceolunulatus Tutt, 1909 P.a. croceovirgatus Tutt, 1909 P.a. cuneata Tutt, 1909 P.a. disco-anteriora Tutt, 1909 P.a. disco-lunulata Tutt, 1909 P.a. flavescens Tutt, 1909 P.a. fulvescens Tutt, 1909 P.a. furvescens Wykes, 1945 P.a. fuscescens Lempke, 1955 P.a. infraobscura Lempke, 1955 P.a. juncta Tutt, 1909 P.a. leodorus Gerhard, 1853 P.a. magnipuncta Tutt, 1909 P.a. minor Tutt, 1909 P.a. nigrescens Tutt, 1909 P.a. obscura Grund, 1908 P.a. pallida Tutt, 1909 P.a. posterocroceus Tutt, 1909 P.a. privata Courvoisier, 1910 P.a. purpurascens Tutt, 1909 P.a. radiata Oberthür, 1896 P.a. rufescens Tutt, 1909 P.a. transversa Wykes, 1945 P.a. tribasijuncta Courvoisier, 1912 P.a. ultranubila Wykes, 1945 P.a. unipuncta Mousley, 1902 P.a. violascens Tutt, 1909 - P.a.argus Linnaeus, 1758-British Isles : From N Portugal & N Spain across C Europe to Ural Mts. & Appenines P.a.caernensis Thompson, 1937-Great Orme Head North Wales P.a.cretaceus Tutt, 1909 - Southern counties of England - now extinct P.a.masseyi Tutt,1909 - Westmorland,England - now extinct P.a.aegon Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775-Karelia P.a.cleomenes Fruhstorfer, 1910-Carpathians P.a.wolgensis Forster, 1936-S.Europe : lowlands of Kazakhstan : Tian-Shan : Tarbagatai : Saur : S.Altai P.a.bellus Herrich-Schäffer, 1844-Asia Minor : Kurdistan : Levant : Caucasus : Armenia : Talysh P.a.obensis Forster, 1936-Ural : W.Siberia P.a.clarasiaticus Verity, 1931-E.Altai : Sayan : Transbbaikalia : W.Amur P.a.pamirus Forster, 1936-Pamirs-Alai : highlands Tian-Shan P.a.coreanus Tutt,1909-E.Amur : Ussuri : Korea P.a.micrargus Butler,1878-Japan : Sakhalin P.a.asur Agenjo, 1966 Type Locality Villasur : Spain P.a.bejarensis Chapman, 1902 Type locality Castilla-Leon : Béjar : Spain P.a.branuelasensis Tutt, 1909 Type locality-Branuelas : Spain P.a.casaiacus Chapman, 1907 Type locality-Casayo : N.W. Spain P.a.claraobscura Verity, 1931 Type Locality-Larche : Basses-Alpes : France P.a.hypochionagraecea Tutt, 1909 P.a.seoki Shirozu & Sibitani, 1943 Type Locality-Saishuto : Korea P.a.vigensis Tutt, 1909 Type Locality-Vigo : NW.Spain P.a.sultana Forster, 1936-Asia Minor P.a hypochionus Rambur, 1858-Iberian Peninsula-south,central & east : Liguria-Italy P.a.corsicus Ballier de la Chavignerie, 1862-Corsica P.a.aegidion Meisner, 1818-Alps across Balkans,Asia Minor,Caucasus,Transcaucasia to N. Iran |