This is a list of the Lycaenidae of Europe. It is a part of List of the butterflies of Europe.

Subfamily Aphnaeinae

*Tawny silverline, ''

Cigaritis acamas ''Cigaritis acamas'', the tawny silverline, Arab leopard or leopard butterfly, is a species of lycaenid or blue butterfly. It is found from North Africa and the Near East to India. The range includes Sudan, Arabia (United Arab Emirates) and Soma ...

'' (Klug, 1834)

Subfamily Lycaeninae

Tribe Lycaenini *Small copper, '' Lycaena phlaeas'' (Linnaeus, 1761) *Large copper, ''

Lycaena dispar The large copper (''Lycaena dispar'') is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. ''L. dispar'' has been commonly arranged into three subspecies: ''L. dispar dispar'', (single-brooded) which was commonly found in England, but is now extinct, ''L. ...

'' (Haworth, 1802) *Violet copper ''

Lycaena helle ''Lycaena helle'', the violet copper, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found from the Pyrenees to northern Norway and from Belgium east across the Palearctic to Central Asia, Siberia and Amur.The wingspan The wingspan (or just ...

'' Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775 *'' Lycaena ottomanus'' (Lefèbvre, 1830) *Scarce copper, '' Lycaena virgaureae'' (Linnaeus, 1758) *Sooty copper, ''

Lycaena tityrus ''Lycaena tityrus'', the sooty copper, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in Europe. Subspecies *''Lycaena tityrus subalpina'' (Speyer, 1851) Italy The wingspan is . The butterfly flies from April to September, depending on th ...

'' (Poda, 1761) *Iberian sooty copper, ''

Lycaena bleusei ''Lycaena bleusei'', the Iberian sooty copper, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae, subfamily Lycaeninae. It is found in Portugal and Spain, in Europe. The wingspan is . Compared to ''Lycaena tityrus'' it is brighter above, with stronge ...

'' Oberthur, 1884 *Purple-shot copper, ''

Lycaena alciphron The purple-shot copper (''Lycaena alciphron'') is a butterfly in the family of the Lycaenidae or copper butterflies and in the genus of the ''Lycaena''. The coloring of the males and the females is very different, i.e. the sexual dimorphism is v ...

'' (Rottemburg, 1775) *Purple-edged copper, ''

Lycaena hippothoe The purple-edged copper (''Lycaena hippothoe'') is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. Sub-species Subspecies include: * ''Lycaena hippothoe hippothoe'' ( Linnaeus, 1761) * ''Lycaena hippothoe stiberi'' (Gerhard, 1853) – Scandinavia, Ura ...

'' (Linnaeus, 1761) *Balkan copper, ''

Lycaena candens ''Lycaena candens'' is a small butterfly found in the Palearctic (Southeast Europe and Caucasus) that belongs to the lycaenids or blues family. Subspecies * ''L. c. leonhardi'' (Fruhstorfer, 1917) * ''L. c. pfeifferi'' (Beuret, 1952) Caucasus, ...

'' (Herrich-Schäffer,

844 __NOTOC__ Year 844 ( DCCCXLIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – Battle of Mauropotamos: A Byzantine expedition under ...

*Lesser fiery copper, ''

Lycaena thersamon ''Lycaena thersamon'', the lesser fiery copper, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found from Eastern Europe, Italy and South-East Europe to Mongolia and North-Western China. The wingspan is 14–16 mm. The butterfly fli ...

'' (Esper, 1784) *Golden copper, ''

Lycaena thetis ''Lycaena thetis'', the golden copper, is a small butterfly found in Greece, Asia Minor - Armenia (highlands), Iraq, Iran, Baluchistan, Chitral and Ladak that belongs to the lycaenids or blues family. Description from Seitz C. thetis Klug ( ...

'' Klug 1834

Subfamily Polyommatinae

Tribe Polyommatini *Nordic blue, ''

Agriades aquilo ''Agriades glandon'', the Arctic blue or Glandon blue, is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It in found in Eurasia and North America. Range In North America, this species is found from Alaska east to Newfoundland, south through th ...

'' (Boisduval, 1832) *Bosnian blue, ''

Agriades dardanus ''Agriades pyrenaicus'', the Gavarnie blue, is a Palearctic butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in the Asturias mountains of north-western Spain, the Pyrenees, the southern Balkan Peninsula, Turkey, the Caucasus and Armenia. The habit ...

'' (Freyer, 1844) *Arctic blue, '' Agriades glandon'' (de Prunner, 1798) *Cranberry blue, ''

Agriades optilete ''Agriades optilete'', the cranberry blue, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in north eastern Europe, the Alps, North Asia, Japan, Korea and north western North America. The length of the forewings is about 14 mm. The b ...

'' (Knoch, 1781) *Alpine argus, ''

Agriades orbitulus ''Agriades orbitulus'', the alpine argus, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is a high altitude species found in the Alps (ranging from the French Alps to Slovenia and Austria), the mountains of Norway and Sweden, the Urals, the Himalayas ...

'' (de Prunner, 1798) *Gavarnie blue, ''

Agriades pyrenaicus ''Agriades pyrenaicus'', the Gavarnie blue, is a Palearctic butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in the Asturias mountains of north-western Spain, the Pyrenees, the southern Balkan Peninsula, Turkey, the Caucasus and Armenia. The habit ...

'' (Boisduval, 1840) *Zullich's blue, '' Agriades zullichi'' *Brown argus, '' Aricia agestis'' (Denis & Schiffermuller 1775) *Blue argus, ''

Aricia anteros ''Aricia anteros'', the blue argus, is a European butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It has a wingspan of 30–34 mm. In Europe it can be found in Macedonia, Albania, Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, ...

'' (Freyer, 1838) *Northern brown argus, '' Aricia artaxerxes'' (Fabricius, 1793) *Southern brown argus, ''

Aricia cramera ''Aricia cramera'', the southern brown argus, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is a butterfly of Southern Europe and North Africa and can be found from Morocco and Tunisia up to Spain and Portugal, on Mediterranean islands includ ...

'' Eschscholtz, 1821 *Mountain argus, ''

Aricia montensis ''Aricia montensis'', is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found in the mountains of Spain and North Africa. The larvae feed on ''Erodium'', ''Helianthemum ''Helianthemum'' , known as rock rose, sunrose, rushrose, or fro ...

'' Verity, 1928 *Spanish argus, ''

Aricia morronensis ''Aricia morronensis'', the Spanish argus, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in Spain and Hautes-Pyrénées (France). The wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to th ...

'' (Ribbe, 1910) *Silvery argus, '' Aricia nicias'' (Meigen, 1830) *Topaz-spotted blue, ''

Azanus jesous ''Azanus jesous'', the African babul blue or topaz-spotted blue, is a small butterfly found in Africa, Egypt, Syria, India, Sri Lanka and Myanmar that belongs to the lycaenids or blues family. Description The male upperside is a paler and mu ...

'' (Guérin-Méneville, 1847) *Velvet-spotted blue, ''

Azanus ubaldus ''Azanus ubaldus'', the bright babul blue, desert babul blue, or velvet-spotted blue, is a small butterfly found in India, the Middle East and Africa that belongs to the lycaenids or blues family. Description Male upperside brownish purple, dar ...

'' (Stoll, 1782) *Geranium bronze, ''

Cacyreus marshalli The geranium bronze or ''brun des pélargoniums'' in French (''Cacyreus marshalli''), is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. The geranium bronze butterfly is native to South Africa. The butterfly was first introduced to Europe in the late ...

'' Butler, 1898 *Holly blue, ''

Celastrina argiolus The holly blue (''Celastrina argiolus'') Retrieved April 20, 2018. is a butterfly that belongs to the lycaenids or blues family and is native to the Palearctic. The holly blue has pale silver-blue wings spotted with pale ivory dots. Seitz des ...

'' (Linnaeus, 1758) *Provençal short-tailed blue, ''

Cupido alcetas ''Cupido alcetas'', the Provençal short-tailed blue, is a small butterfly that belongs to the family Lycaenidae. Etymology The Latin species name ''alcetas'' refers to Ἄλκηστις (Alcestis), in Greek mythology a princess daughter of Pel ...

'' (Hoffmansegg, 1804) *Short-tailed blue, ''

Cupido argiades The short-tailed blue or tailed Cupid (''Cupido argiades'') is a butterfly that forms part of the family Lycaenidae. It is found from Europe to Japan and in India. Description The male has a violet upperside, a violet forewing with brown edgin ...

'' (Pallas, 1771) *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 ...

'' (Staudinger, 1886) *Lorquin's blue, ''

Cupido lorquinii ''Cupido lorquinii'' is a small butterfly found in the West Palearctic (North Africa, Iberia) that belongs to the blues family. Description from Seitz ''C. lorquinii'' H.-Schaff. (82 d) resembles ''minima'' very much and has been considered a f ...

'' (Herrich-Schäffer, 1847) *Small blue, ''

Cupido minimus The small blue (''Cupido minimus'') is a Palearctic butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. Despite its common name, it is not particularly blue. The male has some bluish suffusion at the base of its upper wings but is mostly dark brown like the fe ...

'' (Fuessly, 1775) *Osiris blue, '' Cupido osiris'' (Meigen, 1829) *Carswell's little blue, '' Cupido carswelli'' Stempffer, 1927 *Mazarine blue, '' Cyaniris semiargus'' (Rottemburg, 1775) *Geranium argus, ''

Eumedonia eumedon ''Eumedonia eumedon'', the geranium argus, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in the Palearctic realm. This butterfly has been included in the genera ''Plebejus'', '' Plebeius'', ''Polyommatus'' and '' Aricia'', but recent molec ...

'' (Esper 1780) *Grass jewel, '' Freyeria trochylus'' (Freyer, 1845) *'' Glabroculus cyane'' (Eversmann, 1837) *Green-underside blue, ''

Glaucopsyche alexis ''Glaucopsyche alexis'', the green-underside blue, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in the Palearctic. The butterfly flies from April to July depending on the location, lingering in warm, lush meadows with plenty of its host ...

'' (Poda, 1761) *Black-eyed blue, ''

Glaucopsyche melanops ''Glaucopsyche melanops'', the black-eyed blue, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in the western part of Southern Europe and North Africa. The length of the forewings is 11–13 mm. The butterfly flies from May to July de ...

'' (Boisduval, 1828) *Paphos blue, ''

Glaucopsyche paphos '' Glaucopsyche paphos'' is a small butterfly found in the Palearctic that belongs to the blues family. It is endemic to Cyprus It is sometimes considered to be a subspecies of ''Glaucopsyche melanops''. See also *List of butterflies of Europe ...

'' Chapman, 1920 *Iolas blue, ''

Iolana iolas ''Iolana iolas'', the iolas blue, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in northern Africa, southern Spain, southern France, southern Europe, Asia Minor and Iran. The wingspan of the male is 18–21 mm. The flight period is ...

'' (Ochsenheimer, 1816) *Eastern brown argus, '' Kretania eurypilus'' (Freyer, 1851) *Spanish zephyr blue, ''

Kretania hesperica ''Kretania hesperica'', the Spanish zephyr blue, is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is endemic to Spain. Its natural habitats are temperate shrubland and temperate grassland. It is threatened by habitat loss Habitat de ...

'' (Rambur, 1840) *Cretan argus, ''

Kretania psylorita ''Kretania'' is a Palearctic genus of butterflies in the family Lycaenidae. Species Listed alphabetically within groups: The ''eurypilus'' species-group: * ''Kretania csomai'' (Bálint, 1992) * '' Kretania eurypilus'' (Freyer, 1852) – e ...

'' (Freyer, 1845) *Zephyr blue, ''

Kretania pylaon ''Kretania pylaon'', the zephyr blue, is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found in southern Russia and the Middle East to Iran. The habitat consists of dry habitats. This species was considered to encompass a lot of subspecies a ...

'' (Fischer von Waldheim, 1832) *Zephyr blue, ''

Kretania sephirus ''Kretania sephirus'', previously known as ''Plebejus sephirus'', is a species of butterfly that belongs to the family Lycaenidae. It is found in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Asia Minor. The species is part of a species complex, with many me ...

'' (Frivaldzky, 1835) *Alpine zephyr blue, ''

Kretania trappi The Alpine zephyr blue (''Kretania trappi'') is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found in Italy and Switzerland. Its natural habitats are temperate forests and temperate grassland. It is threatened by habitat loss Ha ...

'' (Verity, 1927) *Long-tailed blue, ''

Lampides boeticus ''Lampides boeticus'', the pea blue, or long-tailed blue, is a small butterfly that belongs to the lycaenids or gossamer-winged family. Etymology The Latin species name ''boeticus'' refers to Baetica, a province of the Roman Empire in the Iber ...

'' (Linnaeus, 1767) *Lang's short-tailed blue, ''

Leptotes pirithous ''Leptotes pirithous'', the Lang's short-tailed blue or common zebra blue, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. Description ''Leptotes pirithous'' is a small butterfly with a wingspan of 21–29 mm in males and 24–30 mm in female ...

'' (Linnaeus, 1767) *Canary blue, ''

Leptotes webbianus ''Leptotes webbianus'' (formerly ''Cyclyrius webbianus''), the Canary blue, is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is endemic to the Canary Islands. The wingspan is 28–34 mm. Females are golden and males are dark with a blue area nea ...

'' (Brullé, 1839) *Persian grass blue, ''

Luthrodes galba ''Luthrodes galba'', the Persian grass blue, is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found in southern Turkey, central and eastern Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, the Caucasus and Cyprus. The larvae feed on ''Prosopis stephaniana'', '' ...

'' (Lederer, 1855) *Spanish chalk-hill blue, '' Lysandra albicans'' (Gerhard, 1851) *Adonis blue, ''

Lysandra bellargus The Adonis blue (''Lysandra bellargus'', also known as ''Polyommatus bellargus'') is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It inhabits the Palearctic realm (Western Europe, Central Europe, Southern Europe, Southern Russia, Iraq, Iran, Caucasus, T ...

'' (Rottemburg, 1775) *Azure chalkhill blue, '' Lysandra caelestissima'' (Vérity, 1921) *Chalkhill blue, ''

Lysandra coridon The chalkhill blue (''Lysandra coridon'') is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is a small butterfly that can be found throughout the Palearctic realm, where it occurs primarily in grasslands rich in chalk. Males have a pale blue colour, wh ...

'' (Poda, 1761) *False chalkhill blue, '' Lysandra corydonius'' (Herrich-Schäffer, 1852) *''

Lysandra gennargenti Lysandra (Greek: Λυσάνδρα, meaning "Liberator, Emancipator"; lived 281 BC) was a Queen of Macedonia, daughter of Ptolemy I Soter to Eurydice or Berenice. She was married first to her maternal cousin Alexander, one of the sons of Cassand ...

'' Leigheb, 1987 *Provence chalk-hill blue, ''

Lysandra hispana ''Lysandra hispana'', the Provence chalk-hill blue, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in Spain, southern France and northern Italy. The wingspan is 16–18 mm. It is very similar to '' Lysandra coridon'' but is paler (g ...

'' (Herrich-Schäffer, 1852) *''

Lysandra nufrellensis Lysandra (Greek: Λυσάνδρα, meaning "Liberator, Emancipator"; lived 281 BC) was a Queen of Macedonia, daughter of Ptolemy I Soter to Eurydice or Berenice. She was married first to her maternal cousin Alexander, one of the sons of Cassand ...

'' Schurian, 1977 *Pontic blue, '' Neolysandra coelestina'' (Eversmann, 1843) *Alcon blue, ''

Phengaris alcon ''Phengaris alcon'', the Alcon blue or Alcon large blue, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae and is found in Europe and across the Palearctic to Siberia and Mongolia. Description from Seitz ''L. alcon'' Schiff. (= areas Esp., ''euphemu ...

'' (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775) *Large blue, ''

Phengaris arion The large blue (''Phengaris arion'') is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. The species was first defined in 1758 and first recorded in Britain in 1795. In 1979 the species became mostly extinct in Britain but has been successfully ...

'' (Linnaeus, 1758) *Dusky large blue, ''

Phengaris nausithous The dusky large blue (''Phengaris nausithous'') is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found in Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Montenegro ...

'' (Bergsträsser, 1779) *Scarce large blue, ''

Phengaris teleius The scarce large blue (''Phengaris teleius'') is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found in Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, the Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, the Netherlan ...

'' (Bergsträsser, 1779) *Large jewel blue, ''

Plebejidea loewii ''Plebejidea loewii'', the large jewel blue, Retrieved April 23, 2018. is a species of Lycaenidae, blue (Lycaenidae) butterfly. Description from Seitz L. loewii Z. (= empyrea Frr.) (78 i). Has the appearance of a small form of the preced ing ...

'' (Zeller, 1847) *Silver-studded blue, ''Plebejus argus'' (Linnaeus, 1758) *Reverdin's blue, ''Plebejus argyrognomon">Plebejus argus"> ...

Subfamily Aphnaeinae

Subfamily Lycaeninae

Subfamily Polyommatinae

Subfamily Theclinae

References