Insect
🦋
🦋
Size
18–25 mm wingspanAbout the width of your thumbnail
Weight
0.05 gLighter than a grain of rice
Lifespan
Usually one generation a year, occasionally a partial second brood
M vs F
Females are dark grey, almost black, on top; males are similar but with a light dusting of bluish scales
Habitat
Unimproved chalk and limestone grassland, quarries, road and rail embankments, calcium-rich coastal grassland
Best time
May–June
Conservation
UK: Red
LC
💡 Did you know?
It's the UK's smallest butterfly, small enough to comfortably rest on a thumbnail
Caterpillars feed on a single plant, Kidney Vetch, and can be cannibalistic when food is short, so females spread their eggs thinly across many plants
Often confused with
Holly Blue and Common Blue — both are larger and show much more blue
0
Be the first to spot this!