Polyommatus icarus
Wingspan: 35mm
Description
The male Common Blue has un-marked violet-blue upperwings, edged with a fine black line which is bordered with a clear (no vein marks) white margin. The female upperwings are brown with orange lunules at the edge, the amount of orange is less extensive that on a Brown Argus. The female can sometimes show a variable amount of blue on their upperwings. The underwing is similar to that of the Brown Argus but can be distinguished from it by the additional spot close to the middle of the forewing.
Flight Period
Double Brooded: May – June and August – September
Larval Food plants
Common Bird’s-foot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatus)
Greater Bird’s-foot Trefoil (Lotus pedunculatus)
Black Medick (Medicago lupulina)
Common Restharrow (Ononis repens)
Lesser Trefoil (Trifolium dubium)
White Clover (Trifolium repens)
Habitat Requirements
Downland, rough grassland, wasteland, roadside verges, flower meadows, gardens
Wiltshire Status
Resident and widespread,fFrequent to common
Wiltshire Sites
Pewsey Down
West Yatton Down
Blakehill
Barbury Castle
Earliest sightings
Earliest county record 18th April 2007, Bentley Wood (Mark Swann)
Latest county record
19th October 2007