ID Please Small Blue?

[sahikmet]

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]

Hi, Sezar.

That's a female Lang's short-tailed blue, Leptotes pirithous.

Guy

[David M]

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.

[sahikmet]

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

[Padfield]

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

[sahikmet]

Thanks Guy

Sezar