www.ukbutterflies.co.uk

I would value a second opinion on the identity of these Spanish Pyrenees blue butterflies.

HI David. You'll probably need a third opinion too, but here is mine for seconds!

If the first one is a male, as it appears from the length of the abdomen, it must be ripartii. Normally, male ripartii looks whiter than this on the underside but I really can't see that as a female.

The second one shows blue hairs around the head and thorax. To the best of my knowledge, ripartii lacks this, being buffish there. For that reason I would suggest fulgens. My only caveat is that it looks like a male and surely you would know the species if it was a male - unless you forgot which individual the photo represented.

The third one looks like ripartii again - and again, with less confidence, a male.

The hints of submarginal orange on the first and third individuals are visible on a few pictures (in books) of ripartii but not on fulgens. That supports the determination, but I wouldn't like to count on it. None of my own pictures of either species from Spain show this feature and it may perhaps show up occasionally on either species.

Guy

EDIT: Ah! I do have one picture of male ripartii agenjoi showing a hint of reddish submarginal spots.

Thanks again Guy. You are right about forgetting which individual the photo represented in the case of the second shot - I was just snapping anything that looked a bit different, with a view to identifying it later.