Lang’s short-tailed blue

Lang’s short-tailed blue is a typical species of the edges of paths and tracks and waste land. It resembles the long-tailed blue but is smaller and does not have the obvious white band on the underside of the hindwing. Although it is most often seen between the end of summer and the beginning of autumn (August-September-October), there are also a few butterflies on the wing in spring. The caterpillars feed on the flowers of plants as varied as rosemary and gorse and, like in the case of the long-tailed blue, the females lay their eggs on the buds of flowers about to open. It too is a migratory species that arrives on the island annually from North Africa, usually in the months of May and June. A few larvae and chrysalises may survive the winter and may give rise to a spring generation. It flies very quickly and so is often difficult to identify.
Scientific name: Leptotes pirithous

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