Leptotes pirithous

• Subfamily: Polyommatinae - Polyommatini
• Wingspan: 23-26 mm
• Flight period: Mar - Oct
• Spread: Common
• Host plants: Plumbaginacee, rosacee, Fabacee and Lytrhum salicaria

Information

The Leptotes pirithous also called Lang's Short-tailed Blue is a butterfly of the Lycaenidae family with a wingspan of 23 - 26 mm. It is present in North Africa, Southern Europe and Asia Minor. In Italy it is present in all regions, including the islands. *

Leptotes pirithous has the dorsal surface of the wings of a purplish blue color in the males, grayish brown with purple spots in the female. The ventral surface is whitish in both sexes, with brown spots arranged in a complex geometric pattern.

The hind wings, which have a slender tail at the second cubital rib, have two characteristic black spots surrounded by green and orange.**

Polyvoltine with flickering from March to October, it frequents different habitats, from the edge of the woods, to hot and dry meadows, shrubs and even crops and gardens, present from the basement to the mountain level.

The caterpillar is light green in color, with a darker stripe on its back. The pupa is light brown, with darker colored dusting.**

The host plants of the larvae are different, from Plumbaginaceae to Rosaceae to different species of Fabaceae and Lytrhum salicaria.


*Lepidoptera mundi https://lepidoptera.eu/ - Fauna Europaea https://fauna-eu.org/
** Bestimmungshilfe für die in Europa nachgewiesenen Schmetterlingsarten - http://lepiforum.de/