ID Please Small Blue?
ID Please Small Blue?
Hi, These pictures were taken about a week ago in Madeira. Not terribly good pictures. Wing span approximately 2cm or less. Is it a small blue please? Cheers Sezar
- Padfield
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Re: ID Please Small Blue?
Hi, Sezar.
That's a female Lang's short-tailed blue, Leptotes pirithous.
Guy
That's a female Lang's short-tailed blue, Leptotes pirithous.
Guy
Guy's Butterflies: https://www.guypadfield.com
The Butterflies of Villars-Gryon : https://www.guypadfield.com/villarsgryonbook.html
The Butterflies of Villars-Gryon : https://www.guypadfield.com/villarsgryonbook.html
Re: ID Please Small Blue?
Absolutely. One sole specimen of this species flummoxed me for a while in France last summer leading me to do quite a bit of reading and I am 100% in agreement that it's Lang's Short-Tailed Blue.
Re: ID Please Small Blue?
Hi Guy and David,
Many thanks for both of you. I never heard or seen one before. Looking through found a second picture taken 3 days earlier in the same garden, rather blurred but looks like a male Lang's Short-Tailed Blue. Attached for interest.
Cheers Sezar
Many thanks for both of you. I never heard or seen one before. Looking through found a second picture taken 3 days earlier in the same garden, rather blurred but looks like a male Lang's Short-Tailed Blue. Attached for interest.
Cheers Sezar
- Padfield
- Administrator
- Posts: 8184
- Joined: Sun Nov 05, 2006 10:19 pm
- Location: Leysin, Switzerland
- Contact:
Re: ID Please Small Blue?
Yes, that's a male of the same species.
Leptotes is a very widespread tropical and subtropical genus of rather few species, because they are mostly quite mobile. Lang's short-tailed blue breeds in the Mediterranean area of Europe (as well as in North Africa) and spreads northwards during the summer, though generally not so far as long-tailed blues. There are other species in the genus through India to Australia in the East and also some in America. It's one of my favourite groups of butterflies and I was sorry not to see any this spring during my cloudy, wet trip to Andalucía!
Guy
Leptotes is a very widespread tropical and subtropical genus of rather few species, because they are mostly quite mobile. Lang's short-tailed blue breeds in the Mediterranean area of Europe (as well as in North Africa) and spreads northwards during the summer, though generally not so far as long-tailed blues. There are other species in the genus through India to Australia in the East and also some in America. It's one of my favourite groups of butterflies and I was sorry not to see any this spring during my cloudy, wet trip to Andalucía!
Guy
Guy's Butterflies: https://www.guypadfield.com
The Butterflies of Villars-Gryon : https://www.guypadfield.com/villarsgryonbook.html
The Butterflies of Villars-Gryon : https://www.guypadfield.com/villarsgryonbook.html
Re: ID Please Small Blue?
Thanks Guy
Sezar
Sezar