Chalkhill Blue
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| Chalkhill Blue | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Polyommatus coridon (Poda, 1761) |
The Chalkhill Blue (Polyommatus coridon) is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae.
Males have pale silvery-blue wings with black and white border (see adjacent images). Females are dark brown, also with the black and white borders. As with many blue butterflies, separation from similar species in the field is on the underside markings.
In the UK, this is a species of unimproved (and unfertilized) chalk downland. Its larval (caterpillar) foodplant is horseshoe vetch (Hippocrepis comosa). It is usually seen on the wing for about 6-8 weeks, July to September.
Photographs of a habitat of the Chalkhill Blue can be found on the following web page:
http://www.glaucus.org.uk/MillHill2005.html
[edit] References
- Butterfly Conservation (undated) Butterfly species data: Chalkhill Blue. [1] (Accessed 2 Nov 2006)
- Emmet, A.M. (1990) Lysandra coridon (Poda). Pages 160-162 in The Moths and Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland Vol. 7 Part 1 (ed. A.M. Emmet and J. Heath). Harley Books, Colchester, UK.
- Tomlinson, D. and R. Still (2002) Britain's Butterflies. WildGuides, Old Basing, UK.
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