Polyommatus icarus (Rottemburg, 1775)

common blue

on Trifolium, etc.

Greece, Lefkas, Katouna, 14.v.2019 © Laurens van der Linde

mine

Young larvae of the common blue bite a hole in the lower epidermis and from there eat as much parenchymatous tissue as they can reach with their head and thorax (Emmet ao, 1996a).

host plants

Fabaceae, oligophagous

Astragalus; Genista tinctoria; Lathyrus; Lotus corniculatus, lancerottensis, pedunculatus; Medicago falcata, lupulina, minima, polymorpha, sativa, truncatula; Onobrychis caput-galli; Ononis spinosa & subsp. procurrens; Oxytropis campestris; Trifolium arvense, dubium, montanum, repens; Vicia.

Rarely alao Helianthemum (Pyrgus).

phenology

Larvae in the second half of April, sometimes a second generation in July (Bink, 1992a).

BENELUX

BE recorded (Phegea, 2009).

NE recorded (Kuchlein & de Vos, 1999a; Microlepidoptera.nl, 2009).

LUX recorded (Fauna Europaea, 2009).

distribution within Europe

Entire Europe (Fauna Europaea, 2009).

ei, larva, pupa

see Carter & Hargreaves, Lepiforum, Obregón-Romero & Gil-T, Pyrgus.

references

Acosta Fernández (2007a), Aistleitner & Aistleitner (1996a), Baquero, Moraza, Ariño & Jordana (2011a), Bink (1992a), Bury & Savchuk (2015a), Carter & Hargreaves, 1987a), Dupont, Luquet, Demerges & Drouet (2013a), Emmet ao (1996a), Kuchlein & de Vos (1999a), Lafranchis (2020b), Lepiforum (2021), Obregón-Romero & Gil-T (2011a), Obregón, Shaw, Fernández-Haeger & Jordano (2015b), pyrgus.de (2023), Robbins (1991a), Vegliante & Zilli (2007a), Wiemers (1995a), Wirooks & Theissen (1999a).