Polyommatus celina/icarus

[Lee Hurrell]

Just out of interest, did you photograph any common blues in Fuerteventura? It's been established that the Canary populations are all Polyommatus celina, not icarus - and that celina flies in the south of Spain too. I'm interested in getting a little more familiar with this species, particularly as in parts of Spain icarus and celina overlap.

Guy

Hi Guy,

I've taken your quote from Nick's very good holiday diary.

How does celina differ from icarus? Does it have anything to do with f. boalensis etc ?

Thanks

Lee

[Padfield]

In the Canaries, the male celina has noticeably broader dark borders to both wings and more dark inside the outer margin of the hindwings and the females are very blue. All the pictures in Tshikolovets are of Canary individuals. According to the maps in that book, all the common blues in Andalucía are celina and the species also flies in central Spain. It has been recorded as far north as the Pyrenees. I have very few photos of common blues from Andalucía and the males don't really resemble the Canary celina pictures, though it is probable they are celina. The single female I photographed in Málaga this year does look like celina, though it could equally be a blue female icarus so far as the appearance is concerned. Here they are:


(Female, Málaga, March 2011)


(Male, Málaga, March 2011)


(Male, Gibraltar, February 2007)

This form has nothing to do with boalensis, which is a northern Spanish form.

There is a very interesting (and smack up-to-date) paper on celina/icarus here:

http://www.biodiversidadvirtual.org/tax ... ticulo.pdf

Guy

[Lee Hurrell]

Hi Guy,

Thanks for the paper - fascinating stuff. I wonder how many more cryptic species may be discovered like this - there must be a few waiting.

As you may remember, I found an odd looking male Common Blue in Spain last year which I had thought resembled boalensis. Is this still most likely icarus do you think? It seems to resemble the description of celina pretty closely and the distribution would fit, going by the paper. Admittedly it looks nothing like your specimens although there are several lines of heritage it seems, with the island races being different.

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Thanks

Lee

[Lee Hurrell]

Here's my original ID thread.

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=4699

Lee

[Padfield]

Those look good, and are how I remember most 'icarus' from southern Spain (i.e., I think this is celina). The European distribution of celina is poorly known but I think, as you say, you were in range. I'm going back to Andalucía in early April and will make a point of photographing as many common blues as possible.

Yes - there are doubtless more 'cryptic' species lurking!

Guy

[COLIN BAKER]

Taken on the semi-nature reserve at Quinta da Rocha in Alvor,Portugal on the 1st September 2008 I have thought this to be f.celina from the description in Collins Butterfly Guide.
The background colour of the males have a violet hue with black marginal dots on the hindwing,sometimes extending to the forewing.
I would be very grateful for any comments.

Many Thanks for any reply

[Padfield]

Hi Colin, and thanks for these photos. Although the known distribution of celina, according to Tshikolovets, does not extend west to Portugal, I think this is just as likely to represent the limits of our knowledge as the limits of the butterfly (T states that the distribution in Europe is poorly known).

Your photos certainly seem to show celina. On the other hand, if the two species were easily separable morphologically you would think it would be easy to establish from collections and photos a more precise distribution - there's no reason why it should be difficult to establish the distribution of what used to be called 'form celina'. That suggests to me that there may be morphologically similar forms of icarus in that general part of the world, making things more difficult. Or, it suggests the whole topic is still in its infancy and might become clearer later.

I expect your butterfly to turn out to be celina. It always struck me as a little odd that the common blues from southern Iberia, including Portugal, were so very different from everywhere else and I'm very happy if it turns out they're a different species.

Guy

[COLIN BAKER]

Hi Guy,many thanks for your prompt response regarding f.celina.
I,m sure it is under recorded in this area as I believe marshalli is also.
I saw them many times over three consecutive Septembers in Alvor,some coloured as my photos and some darker as shown by Lee, always with the marginal dots. They did also seem smaller than icarus so maybe time will provide us with a different species.
For the meantime I will leave them as f.celina on my website and consider a three year puzzle solved.
Thanks again Guy and all the very best for the festive season, as I wish also to all on this website.

Colin

[NickMorgan]

This is really interesting. When we were in Lanzarote last year I saw a small brown butterfly, which initially I thought looked like a brown argus. I only saw it briefly and managed a very poor photo and then realised it was a common blue. Guy, you say that the female celina have a lot of blue on them, but there was no sign of any blue on this one. It was only a short butterfly flight to Fuerteventura. I would love to find out more about their distribution.

[Padfield]

A comprehensive monograph on the Spanish Lycaenids has just come out and I've ordered a copy. It has a full species account for celina so I might have a little more information soon.

http://www.wix.com/miguelgmunoz/wwwwixcommiguelgmunoz

Guy

[Roger Gibbons]

I also received the details from Miguel Munoz but at 69 euros it seemed rather pricey for a book covering only Lycaenidae. It would be interesting to hear how detailed it is and whether it represents value for money.

[Lee Hurrell]

Thanks for that Guy.

You can see (but not read) the page on celina on the gallery preview.

Look forward to any further news.

Best wishes,

Lee

[Padfield]

I also received the details from Miguel Munoz but at 69 euros it seemed rather pricey for a book covering only Lycaenidae. It would be interesting to hear how detailed it is and whether it represents value for money.

I'll let you know, Roger. As you know, this is my favourite group - and Spain is remarkable for the number of endemic forms and species found there so it was pretty much a must-buy for me.

You can see (but not read) the page on celina on the gallery preview.

Look forward to any further news.

Exactly. And it includes P. abdon - so I am guessing it is up to date with the latest developments.

Guy

[NickMorgan]

That book looks amazing. Sadly my Spanish doesn't go far beyond asking for a beer, so i think it would be wasted on me!

[Padfield]

I forgot to come back to this topic as I said I would.

First of all, the Muñoz Sariot book is fantastic - filled with original observations and superb pictures of all stages of all Spanish species. It is well worth the money.

Next, to celina. Citing recent research, MS says there is a strong genetic difference between celina and icarus, to the extent that it is not correct even to call them sister species. They diverged (or had their most recent common ancestor) about 2.6 million years ago and are best classed in different clades. P. icarus joins with eros/eroides to form the 'icarus group', while celina forms a separate clade from this pair (this is nicely illustrated on page 6 of the paper referenced earlier in this thread). In other words, icarus is more closely related to eros and eroides (which are usually classed as the same species nowadays) than to celina. He considers it correctly called a 'cryptic' species however, since it is essentially indistinguishable from icarus.

The ancestral home of celina is North Africa, from where it colonised the Balearics (later, Sardinia), Sicily and southern Europe about half a million years ago. He believes it may possibly be found over the whole Iberian peninsula, being as abundant as, or more abundant than, icarus in the south.

What you all want to know is how to identify it! He does give a method, but it is statistical, based on the average size of the underside spots and the average separation of some of them. Frankly, I can't make this work, as many of my Swiss specimens fit his description of typical celina perfectly. He describes (and illustrates) larval differences - the larva is noticeably different from the third instar.

Basically, buy the book - it's well worth it! He goes into great detail with every species, often with his own original observations.

This is the only book I have which describes P. abdon, a very localised Spanish endemic which also resembles icarus closely...

Guy