Lycaenids (Hairstreaks, Coppers & Blues)
This family contains some of our smallest and most brightly coloured butterflies. Sexes are often dissimilar with brightly adorned males upstaging the duller, often brown, females. Intricately patterned eggs are laid singly and resemble tiny pieces of sculptured porcelain. Woodlouse-shaped caterpillars are relatively inactive and often live in close association with ants for protection, for which they reciprocate by exuding a sugary meal from a gland on their back.
The Large Blue butterfly, however, is less symbiotic, exhibiting a form of parasitism of a specific species of the Myrmica ant. The caterpillars, being similar to Myrmica ants physically and chemically and possibly using other forms of mimicry, trick the ants into taking them back to the ant nest, where they either become a predator of the ants larvae or beg for food by acting like an ant larvae in what is known as a “cuckoo” strategy
Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus)
Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus)

Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus)
Family: Lycaenidae
Subfamily: Polyommatinae
Tribe: Polyommatini
Genus: Polyommatus
Subgenus: Polyommatus
Species: icarus
Subspecies: icarus, mariscolore

Key ID Features:
Violet-blue upperside of the male with narrow, black margin and clear, white fringe.
Female uppersides vary from brown to blue but retain white fringes.
Undersides of both sexes similar but female slightly bolder brown with well developed orange lunules.

Seen in UK: Late May-October

Living up to its name, this butterfly is the commonest blue found in the British Isles. While the male has bright blue uppersides, the female is primarily brown, with a highly variable amount of blue. This is the most widespread Lycaenid found in the British Isles and can be found almost anywhere, including Orkney. It is absent, however, from Shetland and the mountainous areas of Wales and Scotland. This butterfly forms reasonably discrete colonies measured in tens or hundreds, with individuals occasionally wandering some distance.

Text (c) UK Butterflies, used with permission
For more information click here

Photographer: Tim Tapley

Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus)

Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus)
Family: Lycaenidae
Subfamily: Polyommatinae
Tribe: Polyommatini
Genus: Polyommatus
Subgenus: Polyommatus
Species: icarus
Subspecies: icarus, mariscolore

Key ID Features:
Violet-blue upperside of the male with narrow, black margin and clear, white fringe.
Female uppersides vary from brown to blue but retain white fringes.
Undersides of both sexes similar but female slightly bolder brown with well developed orange lunules.

Seen in UK: Late May-October

Living up to its name, this butterfly is the commonest blue found in the British Isles. While the male has bright blue uppersides, the female is primarily brown, with a highly variable amount of blue. This is the most widespread Lycaenid found in the British Isles and can be found almost anywhere, including Orkney. It is absent, however, from Shetland and the mountainous areas of Wales and Scotland. This butterfly forms reasonably discrete colonies measured in tens or hundreds, with individuals occasionally wandering some distance.

Text (c) UK Butterflies, used with permission
For more information click here

Photographer: Tim Tapley