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Nature In General
Butterflies and Moths
Butterflies and Moths ID
ID tips for Blue Butterflies
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<blockquote data-quote="Gavia_immer" data-source="post: 1591880" data-attributes="member: 65934"><p><strong>Chapter 6: The Plebejus Blues: Silver-studded Blue</strong></p><p></p><p>Well folks, the Silver-studded Blue chapter is finally here but I am not happy at all with it. It has been much more difficult than expected. I have this species pretty clear here in Spain but there are so many variations through all Europe that it is almost impossible to find tips that work in every single specimen you find in the wild.</p><p></p><p>For that reason, I decided to concentrate in classical specimens. But bare in mind that there are many very confusing ones out there.</p><p></p><p><strong>Silver-studded Blue</strong> (<em>Plebejus argus</em>) follows the underwing pattern of the pic I posted above. It usually has <strong>orange lunules that don't touch or touch slightly</strong> and the <strong>studs</strong> are <strong>blue</strong> sometimes even dark-blue (pic 1).</p><p></p><p>Our fellow member Harri Jalava (thanks, Harri <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" />) pointed me out an ID tip that works pretty well. The <strong>area just outside the orange lunules in the forewing is white</strong> (pic 1). You will see this compared to P. idas in the next post.</p><p></p><p>The best ID tips are really on the upperside. Once you know the butterfly is a Plebejus by the underside, pay attention to the <strong>darker blue colour</strong> and the <strong>broad dark borders</strong> (pic 2).</p><p></p><p>There is a feature that never fails, but is usually very hard to see. <u>Male</u> Silver-studded Blues have a <strong>spine in the tibia</strong> that no other Plebejus species has (pic 3).</p><p></p><p><strong>Females</strong> are very similar to males in the underwing only that they tend to be darker. On the upper-hindwing, instead of the classical orange lunules of other species of blues, their marks are better described as <strong>'orange archs'</strong>. In female Silver studded-Blue usually the marks <strong>extend well into the forewing</strong> (pic 4). But again, this feature doesn't work everywhere in Europe.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Gavia_immer, post: 1591880, member: 65934"] [b]Chapter 6: The Plebejus Blues: Silver-studded Blue[/b] Well folks, the Silver-studded Blue chapter is finally here but I am not happy at all with it. It has been much more difficult than expected. I have this species pretty clear here in Spain but there are so many variations through all Europe that it is almost impossible to find tips that work in every single specimen you find in the wild. For that reason, I decided to concentrate in classical specimens. But bare in mind that there are many very confusing ones out there. [b]Silver-studded Blue[/b] ([i]Plebejus argus[/i]) follows the underwing pattern of the pic I posted above. It usually has [b]orange lunules that don't touch or touch slightly[/b] and the [b]studs[/b] are [b]blue[/b] sometimes even dark-blue (pic 1). Our fellow member Harri Jalava (thanks, Harri ;)) pointed me out an ID tip that works pretty well. The [b]area just outside the orange lunules in the forewing is white[/b] (pic 1). You will see this compared to P. idas in the next post. The best ID tips are really on the upperside. Once you know the butterfly is a Plebejus by the underside, pay attention to the [b]darker blue colour[/b] and the [b]broad dark borders[/b] (pic 2). There is a feature that never fails, but is usually very hard to see. [u]Male[/u] Silver-studded Blues have a [b]spine in the tibia[/b] that no other Plebejus species has (pic 3). [b]Females[/b] are very similar to males in the underwing only that they tend to be darker. On the upper-hindwing, instead of the classical orange lunules of other species of blues, their marks are better described as [b]'orange archs'[/b]. In female Silver studded-Blue usually the marks [b]extend well into the forewing[/b] (pic 4). But again, this feature doesn't work everywhere in Europe. [/QUOTE]
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Nature In General
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Butterflies and Moths ID
ID tips for Blue Butterflies
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