''Lampides boeticus'', the pea blue, or long-tailed blue, is a small

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 belongs to the lycaenids or gossamer-winged family.

Etymology

The Latin species name ''boeticus'' refers to

Baetica Hispania Baetica, often abbreviated Baetica, was one of three Roman provinces in Hispania (the Iberian Peninsula). Baetica was bordered to the west by Lusitania, and to the northeast by Hispania Tarraconensis. Baetica remained one of the basi ...

, a province of the Roman Empire in the Iberian Peninsula . Its common name refers to the long streamers on its hind wings, the male's bright iridescent blue colour, and

peas The pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the flowering plant species ''Pisum sativum''. Each pod contains several peas, which can be green or yellow. Botanically, pea pods are fruit, since they contain seeds and d ...

, which is the typical host plant of the butterfly.

Distribution

This species can be found in

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 ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, South and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...

, and Australia.Funet
/ref> Also found in the Hawaiian islands.

Habitat

This species inhabits the edge of forests, mountain meadows and hot flowery places at an elevation up to above sea level. Lepidoptera Caucasi
/ref>Simon Coombe

Description

The

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

is 24–32 mm for males and 24–34 mm for females. In these small butterflies (although unusually large for their family) the males have a mainly blue violet upper face of the wings with the brown edges, while the females have only a small amount of blue colour in the centre of the wings (

sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most an ...

).New Zealand Butterflies
/ref> Both sexes have a thin, long tail in the hindwings and two black spots in the anal angle. The underface of the wings is ocher and adorned with white markings and with a larger white submarginal streak.Euro Butterflies by Matt Rowlings
/ref> The underface of each hindwing shows a pair of small black eye-spots beside each tail, with an orange marginal spots at the anal angle. This species is rather similar and it can be confused with '' Leptotes pirithous and '' Cacyreus marshalli'' although the pea-blue is significantly larger than both species. Lycaenidae - Lampides boeticus (female)

Ecology

This species may have three generations a year. Adults fly from February to early November and are strong migrants. Eggs are white with a greenish tinge and have a disc-shaped form. They can reach a diameter of 0.5 mm. They are laid singly on the flower buds of the host plants. Old caterpillars are green or reddish-brown, with dark dorsal stripe. They reach a length of 14-15 mm. Pupae reach a length of 9-10 mm. They are light grayish-brown with medium-sized dark spots and dark dorsal stripe. The larvae feed on flowers, seeds and pods of many Fabaceae species, including '' Medicago'', ''

Crotalaria ''Crotalaria'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae (subfamily Faboideae) commonly known as rattlepods. The genus includes over 700 species of herbaceous plants and shrubs. Africa is the continent with the majority of ''Crotalari ...

'', ''

Polygala ''Polygala'' is a large genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Polygalaceae. They are commonly known as milkworts or snakeroots. The genus is distributed widely throughout much of the world Sutherlandia ''Sutherlandia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae containing six known living species. The genus was once organized as having a single species, ''S. frutescens'', but later expanded to include more based on morphological ch ...

'', '' Dolichos'', ''

Cytisus ''Cytisus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae, native to open sites (typically scrub and heathland) in Europe, western Asia and North Africa. It belongs to the subfamily Faboideae, and is one of several genera in the tribe Ge ...

'', ''

Spartium ''Spartium junceum'', known as Spanish broom, rush broom, or weaver's broom, it is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and the sole species in the genus ''Spartium''. It is closely related to the other brooms (in the genera '' Cy ...

'' and ''

Lathyrus ''Lathyrus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the legume family Fabaceae, and contains approximately 160 species. Commonly known as peavines or vetchlings, they are native to temperate areas, with a breakdown of 52 species in Europe, 30 spec ...

'' species. It has also been recorded on '' Crotolaria pallida''. In Australia, the larvae are occasionally attended by ants in the genera ''

Froggattella ''Froggattella'' is a genus of ants in the subfamily Dolichoderinae. The genus contains two species found in Australia. ''Froggattella kirbii'' is fairly common, while ''Froggattella latispina'' is known only from two locations in South Austra ...

'', ''

Iridomyrmex ''Iridomyrmex'' is a genus of ants called rainbow ants (referring to their blue-green iridescent sheen) first described by Austrian entomologist Gustav Mayr in 1862. He placed the genus in the subfamily Dolichoderinae of the family Formici ...

'' or '' Camponotus''.

Bibliography

* * * * * * *Tom Tolman et Richard Lewington, Guide des papillons d'Europe et d'Afrique du Nord, Delachaux et Niestlé, 1997 ()

References

External links

* Paolo Mazzei, Daniel Morel, Raniero Panfil
Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa

Lepiforum.de
{{Taxonbar, from=Q929463 boeticus Butterflies of Africa Butterflies of Asia Butterflies of Europe Butterflies of Oceania Butterflies of Indochina Butterflies of Australia Butterflies of Indonesia Butterflies of Malaysia Butterflies of Singapore Lepidoptera of New Guinea Lepidoptera of the Philippines Insects of Hawaii Insects of Cape Verde Agricultural pest insects Butterflies described in 1767 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Articles containing video clips

Etymology

Distribution

Habitat

Description

Ecology

See also

Bibliography

References

External links