The Holly blue (Celastrina argiolus) is a butterfly that belongs to the lycaenids or blues family and is native to the Palearctic.

Common names

The common name Holly blue is derived from the association of the larval stage with the Holly tree.

Description

thumb|140px|left|Figs 1, 1a, 1b larva after last moult, from holly 1c, 1d larva after last moult, from ivy 1e pupa from holly

The holly blue has violet blue wings, and pale silver-blue under-wings spotted with black dots. Seitz describes it:

In Europe, the larvae of the first generation (the spring generation) feed mainly on the holly species Ilex aquifolium (the flower buds, berries, and leaves), but the second generation (the summer generation) uses a range of food plants including Spindle, Dogwoods, Ivy, and Bramble.

The wingspan is around 2.6 to 3.4 cm.

The Holly blue usually perches with its wings almost fully closed or around 90 degrees.

The holly blue is the national butterfly of Finland.

Taxonomy

This species was originally described as Papilio argiolus by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, and refers to the examples flying in Europe. In their monograph on the Lycaenopsis group of polyommatine genera, Eliot & Kawazoe, 1983, list 14 taxa as valid subspecies names, plus many further synonyms to which they accord lesser status. According to Eliot & Kawazoe, 1983, these 14 subspecies are divided into four groups as follows:

;The argiolus group

Palaearctic & North African

  • C. a. argiolus
  • C. a. bieneri
  • C. a. hypoleuca

:=paraleuca <small>Rober</small>

  • C. a. mauretanica

:=algirica <small>Oberthur</small>

;The kollari group

South and South-East Asian

  • C. a. iynteana

:=sikkima <small>Moore</small>

:=victoria <small>Swinhoe</small>

:=herophilus <small>Fruhstorfer</small>

:=cition <small>Fruhstorfer</small>

:=bothrinoides <small>Chapman</small>

:=puspargiolus <small>Chapman</small>

:=albocaeruloides <small>Chapman</small>

  • C. a. kollari

:=kasmira <small>Moore</small>

:=coelestina <small>Kollar</small>

:=trita <small>Swinhoe</small>

;The ladonides group

Far Eastern

  • C. a. caphis

:=crimissa <small>Fruhstorfer</small>

  • C. a. ladonides

:=levettii <small>Butler</small>

:=sachalinensis <small>Esaki</small>

:=heringi <small>Kardakoff</small>

  • C. a. sugurui

Range

Found throughout Eurasia. It is particularly common in the south of Great Britain. In South Asia, it occurs from Chitral in Pakistan to Kumaon in India.

See also

  • List of butterflies of Great Britain

<gallery>

Holly blue (Celastrina argiolus) female laying egg Bulgaria.jpg|female laying egg, Bulgaria

File:Celastrina argiolus egg.jpg|Egg

File:Lycaenidae - Celastrina argiolus-6.JPG|Imago

File:0 Azuré des nerpruns (♀) - Celastrina argiolus - Havré (1).JPG|Female

File:Celastrina Argiolus.jpg|Bottom sides of the wings

Holly blue (Celastrina argiolus) male underside.jpg|Male

</gallery>

References

  • Eliot, J. N. and Kawazoe, A., 1983. Blue butterflies of the Lycaenopsis group: 1–309, 6 pls. London.
  • Willmott, Ken and Freed, Tim (1999). The Holly Blue Butterfly. Butterfly Conservation, Colchester, UK, 20p. .