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Hi all, I’m new to this forum, just looking for some expert opinion on this brown argus I spotted back on 15th June around the Wiltshire/Somerset border. Apologies - the pics aren’t great - had to take them on my phone.

Wing markings show it’s definitely not a f. common blue, and I’ve never seen this degree of pallor in a brown argus before, especially that early in their flight season. I was wondering if it might be an aberration, specifically ab. Pallidior?

Thoughts?

Hi purplep and welcome to the forums. Apologies for the delay in replying to your question, but I will have a go at it. Firstly, yes it's a Brown Argus and the best fit does seem to be ab. pallidior according to the reference material that I have available.

https://data.nhm.ac.uk/dataset/collecti ... a11e68f68e

https://www.britishbutterflyaberrations ... berrations

I saw something similar on the North Downs in Surrey in 2011.
Vince

Thanks for the reply Vince, very helpful!

Yes, your 2011 specimen looks very much like the one I saw

Andy