''Eumedonia eumedon'', the geranium argus, 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 ...

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 in the

Palearctic realm 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. The ...

. This butterfly has been included in the genera '' Plebejus'', '' Plebeius'', ''

Polyommatus ''Polyommatus'' is a genus of butterfly, butterflies in the family Lycaenidae. Its species are found in the Palearctic realm. Taxonomy Recent molecular studies have demonstrated that ''Cyaniris'', ''Lysandra (butterfly), Lysandra'', and ''Neoly ...

'' and '' Aricia'', but recent molecular studies have demonstrated that '' Eumedonia'' is a valid genus, different from the previous genera mentioned. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...

is 26–30 mm. The butterfly flies from May to August depending on the location. The larvae feed on

Geraniaceae Geraniaceae is a family of flowering plants placed in the order Geraniales. The family name is derived from the genus '' Geranium''. The family includes both the genus '' Geranium'' (the cranesbills, or true geraniums) and the garden plants call ...

species (genera ''

Geranium ''Geranium'' is a genus of 422 species of annual, biennial, and perennial plants that are commonly known as geraniums or cranesbills. They are found throughout the temperate regions of the world and the mountains of the tropics, with the gre ...

'' and ''

Erodium ''Erodium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the botanical family Geraniaceae. The genus includes about 120 species with a subcosmopolitan distribution, native plant, native to Europe, North Africa, Asia, Australia, and more locally in North ...

'').

Description from Seitz

L. eumedon Esp. (= chiron Rott.) (80 a). Above dark brown with white fringes and dark discocellular spot to the forewing; the female has small red anal submarginal spots on the hindwing, sometimes also on the forewing. Beneath brown, with red-yellow distal band, which is either continuous, or separated into spots, and either restricted to the hindwing or continued on to the forewing, or may be entirely absent; the base of the wings beneath dusted with very glossy metallic scaling; ocelli similarly arranged as in '' astrarche'' typical specimens bearing also a distinct white streak from the central spot of hindwing to outer margin. Throughout Europe, but sporadic, usually in places where ''Geranium'' grows, distributed from the Pyrenees to the Pacific Ocean and from Scandinavia to Italy, absent from England, — Larva in the pods of ''Geranium''. The butterflies occur from May till July, in the high Alps until August; they fly rather slowly and clumsily, nearly always about the flowers of ''Geranium'', also passing the night asleep in the blossoms of the plants. During flight they move the wings very regularly up and down and often remain fluttering in the air in front of a flower before settling on it. The sexes are of equal frequency and appear to leave but unwillingly their flight-places, where one often meets with pairs in copula. They are found relatively much more rarely at the rills on the roads in the Alps than other, less abundant, species. Adalbert Seiitz 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)

References

External links

Butterflies of EuropeAdaMerOs - Butterflies Watching & Photography Society in Turkey
Polyommatini Butterflies of Europe {{Polyommatini-stub