The short-tailed blue or tailed Cupid (''Cupido argiades'') is a

butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

that forms part of the family

Lycaenidae Lycaenidae is the second-largest family (biology), family of butterflies (behind Nymphalidae, brush-footed butterflies), with over 6,000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies. They constitute about 30% of ...

. It is found from

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and in India.

Description

The male has a violet upperside, a violet forewing with brown edging, and a violet hindwing with a brown edging of varying length. The wings have black spots, some of which have slight white edging. The tail is black with a white tip. The underside of the wings are white or brownish grey, the markings prominent or very faint. The antennae are black with white speckling on the shafts. The body is brown with a purple flush on fresh specimens. The female has a dark grey-blue upperside, with black parts and broader edging. The undersides of the wings are like those of the male but with more stark markings. The body is like that of the male but without the purple flush. Specimens from very dry localities in Upper Burma and from Great Nicobar Island are remarkably small and pale, with the markings on the underside, especially the subtornal ochraceous yellow patch, more or less obsolescent.

Similar species

*Southern short-tailed blue ('' Cupido alcetas'' ), southern Europe *Eastern short-tailed blue ( '' Cupido decolorata'' )

Distribution

In the

Palearctic The Palearctic or Palaearctic is a biogeographic realm of the Earth, the largest of eight. Confined almost entirely to the Eastern Hemisphere, it stretches across Europe and Asia, north of the foothills of the Himalayas, and North Africa. Th ...

it is found from north of Spain via

Central Europe Central Europe is a geographical region of Europe between Eastern Europe, Eastern, Southern Europe, Southern, Western Europe, Western and Northern Europe, Northern Europe. Central Europe is known for its cultural diversity; however, countries in ...

Southern Europe Southern Europe is also known as Mediterranean Europe, as its geography is marked by the Mediterranean Sea. Definitions of southern Europe include some or all of these countries and regions: Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, C ...

and

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

then east to

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

and Japan. It is missing in much of Italy and the south of Greece and Turkey. The butterfly flies from May to September depending on the location. An isolated population in Southern ArmeniaButterfly Conservation Armenia http://www.butterfly-conservation-armenia.org/cupido-argiades.html is on wing starting from late April. In the Oriental region it is found in India.

Habitat

From sea level up to a height of about 1500 meters in meadows, forest edge habitats, woodland clearings and glades but only where there is with flower cover.

Life cycle

The

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

is light green with a dark stripe on the back and dark streaks on the sides, with some brownish and white spots. It feeds on

legume Legumes are plants in the pea family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or the fruit or seeds of such plants. When used as a dry grain for human consumption, the seeds are also called pulses. Legumes are grown agriculturally, primarily for human consum ...

plants, including '' Lotus uliginosus''. ''

Lotus corniculatus ''Lotus corniculatus'' is a flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae. Common names include common bird's-foot trefoil, eggs and bacon, birdsfoot deervetch, and just bird's-foot trefoil (a name also often applied to other ''Lotus'' spp.). It ha ...

'', ''

Lotus pedunculatus ''Lotus pedunculatus'' (formerly ''Lotus uliginosus''), the big trefoil, greater bird's-foot-trefoil or marsh bird's-foot trefoil, is a member of the pea family (Fabaceae). It is a herbaceous perennial growing throughout Europe in damp, open lo ...

'', ''

Securigera varia ''Securigera varia'' (Synonym (taxonomy), synonym ''Coronilla varia''), commonly known as crownvetch or purple crown vetch, is a low-growing legume vine. It is native to Africa, Asia and Europe and is commonly used throughout the United States an ...

'', ''

Medicago sativa Alfalfa () (''Medicago sativa''), also called lucerne, is a perennial flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world. It is used for grazing, hay, and silage, as we ...

'', ''

Trifolium pratense ''Trifolium pratense'' (from Latin prātum, meaning meadow), red clover, is a herbaceous species of flowering plant in the bean family, Fabaceae. It is native to the Old World, but planted and naturalised in many other regions. Description ...

'', ''

Astragalus glycyphyllos ''Astragalus glycyphyllos'' (liquorice milkvetch, wild liquorice, wild licorice) is a flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, native to Europe. It is a perennial herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody ...

''and''

Ulex europaeus ''Ulex europaeus'', commonly known as gorse, common gorse, furze or whin, is a species of flowering plant native to Western Europe. Description Growing to tall, it is an evergreen shrub. The young stems are green, with the shoots and leaves ...

'' The

pupa A pupa (; : pupae) is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their life cycle, the stages th ...

is the same color as the larva or darker and black-spotted. Image:Cupido argiades female Weinsberg 20070731.jpg, Female Image:Everes argiades2, 2006-07-10.jpg, Male Image:Everes argiades.jpg Image:Everes argiades, 2006-08-04.jpg

References

External links

Butterflies of Europe Vlindernet
{{Taxonbar, from=Q286921 Cupido (butterfly) Butterflies of Asia Butterflies of Europe Butterflies described in 1771 Taxa named by Peter Simon Pallas

Description

Similar species

Distribution

Habitat

Life cycle

See also

References

External links