Cupido (Everes) argiades

• Subfamily: Polyommatinae - Polyommatini
• Wingspan: 25-30 mm
• Flight period: Mar - Aug
• Spread: Common
• Host plants: Lotus cornicolatus, Trifolium sp., Medicago lupulina ...

Information

The Cupido argiades also called short-tailed blue is a small butterfly (wingspan 25-30 mm) with a very delicate appearance, widespread throughout Europe, with the exception of Denmark, Portugal, Ireland, and Norway. In Italy it is absent from Sardinia. *

The Cupido argiades It has a marked sexual dimorphism in fact the male has the upper page of the wing of blue violet color, while in the female the color is blue / brown with darker edges almost completely brown. The rear wing has a small tail and has two small orange moons, characteristic of the species. **

Bivoltine, rarely trivoltine, can be seen flying between the end of March and May (in the first generation) and between June and August (in the second and eventual third generation).
It can be found on embankments, road edges, clearings of woods from the basal to the mountain level.

Host plants are many: Lotus cornicolatus, Trifolium pratense, Trifolium avernese, trifolium repens, Coronillia varia, Medicago Lupulina, Onobrychis sativa, Anthillis vulneriana.


* Lepidoptera mundi https://lepidoptera.eu/