Silver-studded blue

Silver-studded blue
Male, Hampshire, England
Female, Bulgaria
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Lycaenidae
Genus: Plebejus
Species:
P. argus
Binomial name
Plebejus argus
Synonyms
  • Lycaena argus

The silver-studded blue (Plebejus argus) is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It has bright blue wings rimmed in black with white edges and silver spots on its hindwings, lending it the name of the silver-studded blue. P. argus can be found across Europe and east across the Palearctic, but it is most often studied in the United Kingdom where the species has experienced a severe decline in population due to habitat loss and fragmentation.[1]

P. argus engages in mutualism with ants that contribute to the butterflies' reproductive fitness by providing protection from predation and parasitism from the point of egg laying to their emergence as adults.[2][3] P. argus adults emerge at the end of June and beginning of July and engage in flight until the beginning of August.[1][4]

The butterfly is adaptable to different habitats and is found in heathland, mossland, and limestone grassland.[1][5] Tending towards a sedentary lifestyle and typically flying less than 20 metres (66 ft) a day, P. argus maintains a small radius home range.[6] Their habitats lend themselves well to both foraging and egg laying as the host plants are ubiquitous in all three environments they occupy.[6][1]

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  4. ^ Thomas, C. D. (1991-09-01). "Spatial and temporal variability in a butterfly population". Oecologia. 87 (4): 577–580. Bibcode:1991Oecol..87..577T. doi:10.1007/BF00320423. ISSN 0029-8549. PMID 28313702. S2CID 28033599.
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