(Rottemburg, 1775)
Mazarine Blue
Description:
The Mazarine Blue usually occurs on quite damp vegetation in flower-rich meadows and pastures and at the edges of woodland. These butterflies are fond of basking together in groups and are then easy to find and to be observed.
The female deposits her eggs on the flowerheads of Red Clover (Trifolium pratense), eating the unopened buds. The first instar caterpillar only feeds on buds and flowers, later stages also feed on leaves. The colours of the caterpillars are well adapted to their surroundings, with much pink in the first instar and the green in later stages. The caterpillars can hardly be seen while feeding on the food plants. Ants of the genera Lasius and Camponotus attend the caterpillars.
Depending on the altitude and position in the range, the Mazarine Blue has one to three generations a year.
Over most of its range, the subspecies P. s. semiargus occurs. All the females are brown with a powdering of blue. A smaller subspecies, P. s. parnassia, is found in the Timphristos and Parnassus Mountains in central Greece. The females have a few brown to orange eye-spots on the hindwing. In the other parts of Greece, P. s. helena occurs which has a lot of orange eye-spots on the hindwing.
Habitat:
Mesophile grasslands
Humid grasslands
Similar species:
Cupido osiris
Polyommatus coelestina