(Hübner, 1813)
Nevada Blue
Description:
In the Sierra Nevada, the Nevada Blue can be found in open patches in dwarf Juneper scrub, and on grassy vegetation growing between acid, slate rocks and schist. In the Sierra de la Sagra, the butterflies are found on dry, open calcareous slopes with short vegetation. Here, the climatic conditions are extreme, the ground being covered with snow for nine months of the year. One of the plants that can withstand these conditions, the kidney-vetch Anthyllis vulneraria ssp. arundana is the food plant.
The female lays her eggs singly on the upperside of the leaves. The caterpillars hibernate. They pupate in the ground in June. The later instars are often found in the company of ants.
Habitat:
Alpine grasslands
Screes
Similar species:
Polyommatus thersites
Polyommatus dorylas
Polyommatus nivescens