Male, Switzerland, April 2008
Male, Switzerland, April 2009, showing the variation in border width
Switzerland, April 2009
Male, Switzerland, April 2008
Female, May 2005, Switzerland
Mating pair, Switzerland, May 2006
Female, Switzerland, May 2006
Female, Switzerland, May 2006
Female, May 2004 (my hand is there to stop the video camera focusing on
the grass behind, which is often a problem with butterflies that perch
on grass and flowers)
The upperside of the male is bright blue with a fairly narrow border,
but both sexes are most easily recognised by the underside. The
hindwing has a characteristic green basal area and the forewing shows
strikingly large spots. It is a spring butterfly that until 2004 I had
never seen, as it does not fly in my local region. The insects above
were photographed along the Rhône Valley, where it seems to be
reasonably common.
Update: In 2006 I discovered this species for the first time in my
local region, Gryon (just the one individual so far - the female in
pictures 3 and 4 above).