Chequered Blue (scolitantides orion)
2008 photos highlighted green. Click on any photo to go to an enlarged picture, or simply scroll down the page.
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| 10410_male_Alpes Maritimes_9May08 | 6690_male_Alpes Maritimes_8Jun07 | 0786_mating pair_Alpes Maritimes_21May06 |
A rather untypical blue, unlike any other found in France - a rather dull upperside, lacking the usual resplendence of male blues, but having a very bright and distinctive underside. The female is similar but brown with maybe only a sprinkling of blue scales. It cannot be mistaken for any other species in France, where it occurs locally in the south-eastern quarter of the country. I had not seen it until 2005, but it was reasonably common in this one location. As I have only seen it in one location, I cannot say how typical these photos are, but I do not believe it varies much.
It's a frustrating butterfly to photograph as the underside markings are such that it looks out of focus even when it's not, and even worse if the shot is slightly out of focus. It is a quite localised butterfly of southern Europe, univoltine and with a quite early flight season.
10410: a male in typical territorial pose.
6690: this male has a quite cleanly marked underside, for a species that often appears smudgy even when in focus. The underside cannot be confused with any other species in France. Altitude 1000m.
0786: a mating pair, with I believe, the female on the right, judging from the body shape and relative freshness - it seems normal to me that in mating pairs the females (which tend to emerge later) are usually the fresher of the two, whereas males look more battered, presumably as they are older and may have been defending their territory.
10410_male_Alpes Maritimes_9May08
6690_male_Alpes Maritimes_8Jun07
0786_mating pair_Alpes Maritimes_21May06
