Adonis Blue (Lysandra bellargus)
2009 photos highlighted in yellow. Click on any photo to go to an enlarged picture, or simply scroll down the page.
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| 10556_male_Var_15May08 | 14211_female_Var_5Sep08 | 14415_female_Var_29Sep08 |
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| 5908_female_Var_27May07 | 1305_female_Alpes Maritimes_28May06 | 14290_female_Var_12Sep08 |
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| 15421_male_Var_24May09 | 8531_male_Var_27Jul07 | 13928_male_Var_27Aug08 |
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| 15405_male_Var_23May09 | 10159_pair_Var_1May08 | 9395_female_Var_30Aug07 |
A species with restricted range in the UK, but ubiquitous and often very common in France. It is slightly larger than the Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) with which it is most likely to be confused, at least on a frequency basis. The male upperside is a very distinctive bright blue, often discernible in flight, with the characteristic black chequering on the white margins where the veins cut the margin. The female upperside is basically brown, as with most blues, but it has varying amounts of blue according to locality. Generally in my experience the female is plain brown at low altitudes but with increasing amounts of blue as the altitude increases, with a very blue form known as ceronus and intermediary forms which could perhaps be described as semi-ceronus.
The underside is superficially similar to icarus, especially as bellargus has a unf cell spot which many Polyommatus species do not have. The male underside ground colour can vary from grey to pale brown, especially the unh, and the female is usually a deeper but more consistent brown.
10556: a typical male. A slight deformity at the forewing tip. Altitude 140m.
14211: a female, with virtually no blue scales. Altitude 185m.
14415: a female with almost completely blue hindwings, with the orange lunules merging into the blue. Altitude 780m.
5908: a fabulously marked female, with a full set of orange uph lunules and even a reasonable set on the upf. There is a smattering of blue scales, most pronounced at the outer edges of the uph lunules. The female is quite variable, usually plain brown, 5908 being quite strongly marked compared to the norm. Altitude 780m.
1305: a female with considerable amounts of blue, suggesting the form ceronus so could be described as semi-ceronus. Altitude 330m.
14290: another delicately marked female, with blue scales setting off the strong hindwing lunules. Altitude 220m.
15421: a typical male underside, with clear contrast in the brown ground colour of the unh and the grey of the unf. Altitude 220m.
8531: a cleanly marked fresh male. The unh is quite pale brown, as even the male can be quite deep brown here. Altitude 780m.
13928: a male, with rather browner colouring, especially the hindwing, fairly typical. Altitude 185m.
15405: a rather pale male underside, especially the rather washy unh, even though the specimen is quite fresh. Altitude 140m.
10159: a mating pair, female above. Altitude 185m.
9395: this female has a fairly standard deep brown underside ground colour, particularly on the unh, contrasting well with the bright orange lunules. Altitude 780m.
1305_female_Alpes Maritimes_28May06
