| Reverdin's blue | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Female of P. argyrognomon | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Lycaenidae |
| Genus: | Plebejus |
| Species: | P. argyrognomon |
| Binomial name | |
| Plebejus argyrognomon (Bergsträsser, 1779) | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Plebejus argyrognomon, common name Reverdin's blue is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. The species is named after Jacques-Louis Reverdin.
Subspecies include: [1]
This species can be found in Central and Southern Europe, Caucasus, in mountains of Southern Siberia, Mongolia and Amur River. [1]
These butterflies inhabit grassy flowery places at an elevation of 200–1,500 metres (660–4,920 ft) above sea level. [2]
Plebejus argyrognomon has a wingspan of 28–34 mm. These small butterflies present a sexual dimorphism. The upperside of the wings is violet-blue in males, with a narrow, black border and a white fringe, while in the females it is dark brown, with black bordered orange lunules at the outer edge, especially visible on the hindwings. [3] The underside of the wings is light beige in both sexes, with several black spots surrounded by white, an orange stripe and a marginal series of black spots pupillated in silvery blue-green. Caterpillars are pale green with orange brown longitudinal stripes, up to 20 millimeters long.
This species is similar to Plebejus argus , Plebejus idas , Plebejus pylaon and Polyommatus escheri . [4] In Plebejus argyrognomon the underside of the wings is similar to Plebejus argus and Plebejus idas , but the background color is more gray and the black spots are relatively smaller.
The species fly in two broods [4] from May to August depending on the location. The larvae feed on Coronilla varia , Securigera varia , Trifolium repens , Melilotus officinalis , Medicago sativa , Lotus corniculatus , Onobrychis viciifolia , Vicia sativa and Astragalus glycyphyllos . [1] Larvae are attended by ants Lasius niger , Lasius alienus , Myrmica sabuleti , Myrmica scabrinodis and Camponotus vagus . [5] [6]
Argyrognomon (from Latin) is a silver pointer on a sundial.
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Media related to Plebejus argyrognomon at Wikimedia Commons