(Esper, 1780)
Geranium Argus
Description:
The Geranium Argus occurs locally, in meadows, stream valleys, and at woodland edges.
The female lays her eggs in the flowers of crane's-bills (Geranium spp.), at the base of the ovary into which the small caterpillar bores its way on hatching out. It stays there for a little more than a week. It then starts feeding on leaves, first gnawing on the stems, which causes them to wilt. When half-grown, the caterpillars hibernate in the litter layer, but pupate on the food plant.
The Geranium Argus has only one generation a year.
Habitat:
Dry calcareous grasslands
Mesophile grasslands
Humid grasslands
Similar species:
Unmistakable