An unusual Chalkhill Blue.

[Allan.W.]

Visited Lydden/Temple Ewell reserve (in Kent ) for a couple of hours this afternoon ,and amongst the hoards i stumbled across this male ,on the face of it ,a fairly ordinary male Chalkhill ,but what was so striking about it ,was that from several metres away ,i saw something shining in the grass tops ,almost like a bit of silver paper ,i got the bins on it ,and was amazed to see that it was a male Chalkhill Blue ,positively glinting !
Try as i might i couldn,t capture its shine .............. never seen one like it .

As i tried in vane to get a reasonable shot of the insect the sun went behind the clouds ,and momentarily it clapped its wings shut to show another unexpected anomaly ................its underwings were un-spotted (forgotten the name of the AB;) all in all a very unusual Chalkhill.

Regards Allan.W.

[David M]

That's a great ab., Allan. Nearest match on the database seems to be caeca.

I wonder whether the slightly deformed wing edges contributed to the brighter upperside colour? You can see a partial effect in the second image.

[Allan.W.]

Hello David,
Thanks for that David ,you,re right ............Caeca ,i,ve seen a few before ,but as i said it was the very striking metallic sheen to the wings that drew me to it ,certainly never seen another like it ,just couldn,t capture it on the camera ,the underwing abberation was really just a bonus !
Regards Allan.W.

[Goldie M]

Hi! Alan, that really is an unusual Butterfly, I'm all sorted now, found the place I want, so weather permitting I'll visit Temple Ewell before I go back, just can't wait now to pack my bags and be on my way I'll need your help next year for sure, I should get my long a waited Grizzly Goldie