Small photograph of a Silver Studded Blue Click on the image to enlarge
Male. Westleton Heath
6 July 2013
Small photograph of a Silver Studded Blue Click on the image to enlarge
Male. Westleton Heath
6 July 2013
Small photograph of a Silver Studded Blue Click on the image to enlarge
Male. Westleton Heath
6 July 2013
Small photograph of a Silver Studded Blue Click on the image to enlarge
Male. Westleton Heath
6 July 2013
Small photograph of a Silver Studded Blue Click on the image to enlarge
Male. Westleton Heath
6 July 2013
Small photograph of a Silver Studded Blue Click on the image to enlarge
Female. Westleton Heath
15 July 2013
Small photograph of a Silver Studded Blue Click on the image to enlarge
Female. Westleton Heath
15 July 2013
Small photograph of a Silver Studded Blue Click on the image to enlarge
Female. Westleton Heath
15 July 2013
Small photograph of a Silver Studded Blue Click on the image to enlarge
Female. Westleton Heath
15 July 2013
Small photograph of a Silver Studded Blue Click on the image to enlarge
Female. Westleton Heath
15 July 2013

The Silver Studded Blue, Plebejus argus

There is a one main brood, flying from late June to the end of July.

The larval food plants include Heathers and Bird's Foot Trefoil. The caterpillars live in association with black ants, leaving the ants nest to feed at night.

As with Chalkhill Blues, it seems that the males may emerge before the females.
Although the undersides of the hind-wings always have a wide white band between the inner two rows of spots, the extent of actual silver studding does seem to vary quite a lot.

Blue form: On 15 July 2013 at Westleton I saw a female with much more blue than is usual (photo above), rather like the blue females of the Common Blue.
I understand from Rob Parker (pers. comm. 2013), that some populations have a genetic tendency towards a proportion of blue females and that blue females occur more frequently in very hot summers.

Internal links: Home . Butterfly list . Main Gallery . Westleton Heath

External links: to Silver Studded Blue pages at: British Butterflies by Steven Cheshire . UK Butterflies by Peter Eeles
Search menu at Cockayne database for forms and aberrations

Personal sightings:

6 July 2013. Westleton Heath. 6 Silver-studded Blues, all male.
15 July 2013. Hot, about 2 weeks into a heat wave. Westleton Heath. North of the Dunwich Road. Silver-studded Blues: 4 Male, 1 female. South of the Duwich Road, by the sand pit: 12 males, 3 females.

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6 July 2013