Large Blue (Maculinea arion)
2009 photos highlighted in yellow. Click on any photo to go to an enlarged picture, or simply scroll down the page.
|
|
|
|
| 02_63-23_male?_Alpes Maritimes_Jun02 | 2775_male_Italy_17Jul06 | 12215_female_Hautes Alpes_8Jul08 |
|
|
|
|
| 2084_female_Isere_30Jun06 | 12817_female_Isere_12Jul08 | 2058_female_Isere_30Jun06 |
|
|
|
|
| 7595_female_Alpes Maritimes_26Jun07 | 17722_male_Hautes Alpes_10Jul09 |
This species seems to be quite widespread in France. I have seen arion in a number of places in southern France, often at high altitudes such as 1800m, but never more than a few at each location. The underside of fresh specimens is quite breathtakingly silvery blue and it is noticeably larger and darker than most blues, making it quite easy to spot in flight. Unusually, nearly all the specimens I have seen have been females, often egg-laying, and I cannot say 100% that I have ever seen a male in France. High altitude forms are often quite dark, of the form obscura, where the dark upf spots extend and sometimes merge with the dark margins. There are also intermediate forms.
On a related theme, arion has been very successfully re-introduced into the UK using Swedish stock, with 10,000 individuals reportedly flying in 2006, and doing well as at 2008; UK Butterfly Conservation are to be congratulated on this achievement, especially as arion has a larval stage that is entirely dependent on a complex relationship with ants of the myrmica genus. In short, no ants, no arion. This was the big breakthrough - manage the habitat for the ants, not for arion and its larval hostplant.
02_63-23: the high altitude from obscura, seen at around 1000m.
2775: a puzzle. The ground colour is pale grey and the marginal and submarginal marks are very light, when arion is usually noted for its clear and strong markings (c.f. 12817). It may be regional variation and possibly the effects of wear. It bears a passing resemblance to the Scarce Large Blue (M. telejus). However, there are several reasons why it is not: it is not perched on its larval hostplant Great Burnet (Sanguisorba officinalis), which apparently telejus always does (I've only ever seen one, and it was in a field of Great Burnet); the unf discal series is too strongly arched and too rounded and the cell spots on the unf and unh are too strong for telejus; T&L/Lafranchis says telejus does not occur not in Italy; in the Lafranchis ID book, it says that the telejus post-discal spot in s2 is equidistant from the discal spot and the submarginal spot; this is certainly true for the one telejus I have seen, and not the case for 2775. Altitude 600m.
12215: a female, as evidenced by the body shape, and heavier black markings, especially the borders. Altitude 1990m.
2084: this female is slightly worn with limited blue scaling principally in the post-discal areas on both wings. The uph margin is split into clear white-ringed spots, with the upf usual "splashes" being VERY vestigial, with only the cell spot discernible. It is also sitting on thymus pulegioides. If I hadn't seen the underside (2058), I would be seriously scratching my head over this one, but it was clearly arion. Altitude 1020m.
12817: a female, fairly typical arion. Altitude 1020m.
2058: a female and the underside of 2084. This is a heavily gravid female egg-laying on what I believe is Thymus pulegioides, the principal larval hostplant. Altitude 1020m.
7595: a female, very fresh and clean pale blue ground colour, just a pity I couldn't get closer to get a better shot. Altitude 1875m.
17722: very odd: a dark and rather dirty ground colour and a strong basal blue flush. It can only be arion, as the markings are just too strong for rebeli. Altitude 2100m.
12215_female_Hautes Alpes_8Jul08
7595_female_Alpes Maritimes_26Jun07
17722_male_Hautes Alpes_10Jul09
