The short-tailed blue or tailed Cupid (''Cupido argiades'') is a

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprise ...

that forms part of the family

Lycaenidae Lycaenidae is the second-largest 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 the known butterf ...

. It is found from

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

to Japan and in India.

Description

The male has a violet upperside, a violet forewing with brown edging, and a violet hindwing with a brown edging of varying length. The wings have black spots, some of which have slight white edging. The tail is black with a white tip. The underside of the wings are white or brownish grey, the markings prominent or very faint. The antennae are black with white speckling on the shafts. The body is brown with a purple flush on fresh specimens. The female has a dark grey-blue upperside, with black parts and broader edging. The undersides of the wings are like those of the male but with more stark markings. The body is like that of the male but without the purple flush. Specimens from very dry localities in Upper Burma and from Great Nicobar Island are remarkably small and pale, with the markings on the underside, especially the subtornal ochraceous yellow patch, more or less obsolescent.

Similar species

*Southern short-tailed blue ('' Cupido alcetas'' ), southern Europe *Eastern short-tailed blue ( ''

Cupido decolorata '' Cupido decolorata'', the Eastern short-tailed blue, is a small butterfly found in the Palearctic (Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, Greece, Spain, Romania, Slovakia and the Soviet Union - the European part, the Czech Republic, Yugoslavia ...

'' )

Distribution

In the Palearctic it is found from north of Spain via

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the a ...

Southern Europe Southern Europe is the southern region of Europe. It is also known as Mediterranean Europe, as its geography is essentially marked by the Mediterranean Sea. Definitions of Southern Europe include some or all of these countries and regions: Alba ...

and

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whic ...

then east to

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

and Japan. It is missing in much of Italy and the south of Greece and Turkey. The butterfly flies from May to September depending on the location. An isolated population in Southern ArmeniaButterfly Conservation Armenia http://www.butterfly-conservation-armenia.org/cupido-argiades.html is on wing starting from late April. In the Oriental region it is found in India.

Habitat

From sea level up to a height of about 1500 meters in meadows, forest edge habitats, woodland clearings and glades but only where there is with flower cover.

Life cycle

The

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...

is light green with a dark stripe on the back and dark streaks on the sides, with some brownish and white spots. It feeds on legume plants, including ''

Lotus uliginosus ''Lotus pedunculatus'' (formerly ''Lotus uliginosus''), the big trefoil, greater bird's-foot-trefoil or marsh bird's-foot trefoil, is a member of the pea family (Fabaceae). It is a herbaceous perennial growing throughout Europe in damp, open loc ...

''. ''

Lotus corniculatus ''Lotus corniculatus'' is a flowering plant in the pea family Fabaceae, native to grasslands in temperate Eurasia and North Africa. Common names include common bird's-foot trefoil, eggs and bacon, birdsfoot deervetch, and just bird's-foot trefoi ...

'', ''

Lotus pedunculatus ''Lotus pedunculatus'' (formerly ''Lotus uliginosus''), the big trefoil, greater bird's-foot-trefoil or marsh bird's-foot trefoil, is a member of the pea family (Fabaceae). It is a herbaceous perennial growing throughout Europe in damp, open loc ...

'', ''

Securigera varia ''Securigera varia'' ( synonym ''Coronilla varia''), commonly known as crownvetch or purple crown vetch, is a low-growing legume vine. It is native to Africa, Asia and Europe and is commonly used throughout the United States and Canada for eros ...

'', ''

Medicago sativa Alfalfa () (''Medicago sativa''), also called lucerne, is a perennial flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is cultivated as an important forage crop in many countries around the world. It is used for grazing, hay, and silage, as w ...

'', ''

Trifolium pratense ''Trifolium pratense'', the red clover, is a herbaceous species of flowering plant in the bean family Fabaceae, native to Europe, Western Asia, and northwest Africa, but planted and naturalized in many other regions. Description Red clove ...

'', ''

Astragalus glycyphyllos ''Astragalus glycyphyllos'' (liquorice milkvetch, wild liquorice, wild licorice) is a flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, native to Europe. It is a perennial herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody ...

''and''

Ulex europaeus ''Ulex europaeus'', the gorse, common gorse, furze or whin, is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae, native to the British Isles and Western Europe. Description Growing to tall, it is an evergreen shrub. The young stems are g ...

'' The

pupa A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in thei ...

is the same color as the larva or darker and black-spotted. Image:Cupido argiades female Weinsberg 20070731.jpg, Female Image:Everes argiades2, 2006-07-10.jpg, Male Image:Everes argiades.jpg Image:Everes argiades, 2006-08-04.jpg

References

External links

Butterflies of Europe Vlindernet
{{Taxonbar, from=Q286921 Cupido (butterfly) Butterflies of Asia Butterflies of Europe Butterflies described in 1771 Taxa named by Peter Simon Pallas

Description

Similar species

Distribution

Habitat

Life cycle

See also

References

External links