Damon Blue (Agrodiaetus damon)  

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2009 photos highlighted in yellow. Click on any photo to go to an enlarged picture, or simply scroll down the page.

17648_male_Hautes Alpes_09Jul09	17862_male_Isere_11Jul09	12559_male_Isere_10Jul08
3695_male_Alpes de Haute Provence_13Aug06	3668_female_Alpes de Haute Provence_13Aug06	3707_female_Alpes de Haute Provence_13Aug06

I first saw a single male in the Queyras National Park in 2000, and then another at Isola in 2002. However, in 2003 at the Col de Lauteret near Briancon I saw another, then another and then realised that they could be counted in hundreds if not thousands. I have since seen damon in huge numbers at various high altitude locations. Both sexes have the very strong white unh streak which is characteristic of this species and it could only be confused (in France) with the Ripart's Anomalous Blue (A. ripartii), which I saw for the first time in 2009. The undersides are very similar, the unh of ripartii having heavier and more extensive black spots, extending into s1 and s2, but the main and probably constant differentiating factor seems to be that the margins of damon are white, but brown for ripartii.

The underside of the female Furry Blue (Agrodiaetus dolus) of the form vittatus is very similar but paler in colour. The few dolus I have seen have been of the nominate form not vittatus, so my experience is limited here.

Damon is slightly unusual in that the underside ground colour is brown in the male as well as the female, whereas for most blues the male is grey (or greyer) than the usually-brown female. However, as shown above, the male upperside is strongly blue and the female brown. The male upperside could possibly be confused with the Amanda's Blue (Polyommatus amandus) in terms of the dark borders, although damon is rather darker and smaller than amandus and the undersides are completely different.

17648: a male, showing the characteristic dark borders which extend along the uph veins. Altitude 2100m.

17862: a male, quite deep chestnut brown. Altitude 1120m.

12559: a male, unusually brown on both wings. Altitude 1120m.

3695: a typical male underside, less brown on the unf but still quite brown by comparison with other blues. Altitude 2000m.

3668: a typical female, plain brown and unmarked, with bluish suffusion on the thorax hairs and in the basal region. Altitude 1800m.

3707: a typical female underside, quite a strong clean brown on both wings. Altitude 2000m.

17648_male_Hautes Alpes_09Jul09

17862_male_Isere_11Jul09

12559_male_Isere_10Jul08

3695_male_Alpes de Haute Provence_13Aug06

3668_female_Alpes de Haute Provence_13Aug06

3707_female_Alpes de Haute Provence_13Aug06