Mazarine Blue (cyaniris semiargus)
2008 photos highlighted green. Click on any photo to go to an enlarged picture, or simply scroll down the page.
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| 13342_male_Valais, Switzerland_20Jul08 | 12567_male_Isere_10Jul08 | 7140_female_Var_18Jun07 |
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| 7122_female_Var_18Jun07 |
A butterfly with a very wide altitude range, often being found at 2000m and sometimes considerably above. It is quite widespread across Europe but rarely more than a few in any one place. The male is a deep blue with the veins marked black and with varying-width strong black borders, and the female plain brown with no marginal lunules. The undersides of both sexes are quite similar, the male is greyish-brown and the female browner, although male undersides can be browner than one might expect. It is slightly larger than the average Common Blue (polyommatus icarus).
13342: a male with a dark blue colouring and very strong black borders of constant width.
12567: a male, puddling. The ground colour is a typical pale brown, with a tinge of grey.
7140: a fresh female upperside, plain dark brown and almost completely unmarked. Altitude 780m.
7122: a female underside, with a beautiful clean pale creamy-chocolate ground colour and strong black spots. It unusually has vestigial submarginal marks. Altitude 780m.
13342_male_Valais, Switzerland_20Jul08
