The dusky large blue (''Phengaris nausithous'') is a species of

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 ...

in 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 in

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, and

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

.Popović, Verovnik (2018). Revised Checklist of the Butterflies of Serbia (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea). Zootaxa 4438 (3): 501–27. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4438.3.5. The life cycle of this species is strongly related to the herbaceous plant '' Sanguisorba officinalis'' (great burnet).

Description from Seitz

Glaucopsyche nausithous Schwaebisch Hall-Wackershofen 20080723 4

L. arcas Rott. (= erebus Knoch) (83 e). Male similar to ''

euphemus In Greek mythology, Euphemus (, ''Eὔphēmos'', "reputable") was counted among the Calydonian hunters and the Argonauts, and was connected with the legend of the foundation of Cyrene, Libya, Cyrene. Family Euphemus was a son of Poseidon, ...

'', but the female quite black-brown above; particularly recognizable by the underside being coffee-brown and bearing only one row of ocelli, ab. ''minor'' Frey are small specimens from Switzerland. In ab. ''inocellata'' Sohn the ocelli of the underside are reduced, in ab. ''lycaonius'' Schultz they are entirely absent. In the male-ab. ''lucida'' Geest the forewing above has the blue lighter and more extended and the black discal spots reduced or obsolete. Throughout Central Europe, from Alsatia to the Ural, Caucasus and Armenia, and from Pommerania and the Lower Rhine to Italy. — Egg like that of ''euphemus'' laid on ''Sanguisorba''. The young larva pale, later on purple-brown and finally probably yellowish-brown, at first at the flowers, later on at the leaves of ''Sanguisorba''. The butterflies have exactly the same habits as ''euphemus'', with which they frequently fly together, in July and August; they are usually still more plentiful than ''euphemus'' in the places where they occur (damp meadows).

Adalbert Seitz Friedrich Joseph Adalbert Seitz, (24 February 1860 in Mainz – 5 March 1938 in Darmstadt) was a German physician and entomologist who specialised in Lepidoptera. He was a director of the Frankfurt zoo from 1893 to 1908 and is best known for editi ...

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) (MHNT) Phengaris nausithous nausithous - Mokra Poland - male dorsal.jpg , ''Phengaris nausithous'' ♂ (MHNT) Phengaris nausithous nausithous - Mokra Poland - male ventral.jpg , ''Phengaris nausithous'' ♂ △

Similar species

*Scarce large blue '' Phengaris teleius'' *Mountain Alcon blue ''

Phengaris rebeli ''Phengaris rebeli'' (formerly ''Maculinea rebeli''), common name mountain Alcon blue, is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It was first found and described in Styria, Austria, on Mount Hochschwab around 1700. Although it was init ...

'' *Alcon large blue'' Phengaris alcon'' *Large blue ''

Phengaris arion The large blue (''Phengaris arion'') is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. The species was first defined in 1758 and first recorded in Britain in 1795. In 1979 the species became mostly extinct in Britain but has been successfully ...

References

External links

lepiforum.de
Notes on taxonomy. Images.
Butterfly Conservation Armenia
Phengaris Butterflies of Europe Butterflies of Asia Butterflies described in 1779 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Habitats Directive species {{Polyommatini-stub