Lysandra albicans
Lysandra albicans, the Spanish chalk-hill blue, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in Spain and Western North Africa.[1]
| Lysandra albicans | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Male | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Lycaenidae |
| Genus: | Lysandra |
| Species: | L. albicans |
| Binomial name | |
| Lysandra albicans (Gerhard, 1851) | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
The length of the forewings is 18–21 mm. The species of Lysandra are very similar and difficult to identify and L. albicans was once a subspecies of Lysandra coridon. It is the palest of the complex.[2]. The upperside of the male is almost white, adorned with a sub marginal line of gray dots, sometimes very discoloured on the forewings. In the female it is brown with a short submarginal line of orange spots very discoloured on the forewings. The underside of the male is white-coloured or very light grey-blue adorned with a submarginal line of light spots while the female is ochre adorned with brown dots and a submarginal line of brown dots surrounded by orange colour that surrounding brown dots.The butterfly flies from June to August in a single generation. Its habitat consists of dry places with flowers, between rocks, 900 m to 1800 meters. The larvae feed on Hippocrepis comosa and Hippocrepis multisiliquosa.They are attended by ants.
References
- Mensi, Paola; Lattes, Aldo; Salvidio, Sebastiano; Balletto, Emilio (1988). "Taxonomy, evolutionary biology and biogeography of South West European Polyommatus coridon (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae)". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 93 (3): 259–271. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1988.tb01363.x. ISSN 0024-4082.
- Seitz, A. in Seitz, A. ed. Band 1: Abt. 1, Die Großschmetterlinge des palaearktischen Faunengebietes, Die palaearktischen Tagfalter, 1909, 379 Seiten, mit 89 kolorierten Tafeln (3470 Figuren)
