Northern Brown Argus
Large Sun Rose Blue ( Aricia artaxerxes )
The Great Rock Rose Blue ( Aricia artaxerxes ) is a butterfly ( butterfly ) of the family Lycaenidae ( Lycaenidae ).
- 6.1 Notes and references
Features
The moths achieve something greater wingspan than the very similar small - Rockrose Lycaenidae ( Aricia agestis ). The species are very difficult to distinguish from each other, because their description is almost identical: you have dark brown upper wing, which both on the front and on the hind wings distinctly orange -colored edge spots are visible. The wing undersides of both pairs of wings are pale gray-brown. On them are black to recognize light framed points wide, orange -colored spots that are arranged in a napkin.
Large Rockrose - Bläulinge have but in contrast to the little ones usually only weakly formed orange -colored edge spots. However, no reliable determination is also possible on the basis of these characteristics. Even studies of the reproductive organs can not rule out the confusion.
The caterpillars are more blue-green (instead of green like that of A. agestis ) colored and they also lack the red vertical bars on the sides and back.
Similar Species
- Little Rock Rose Blue ( Aricia agestis )
Occurrence
The moths come into North Africa, Turkey east to the Altai and in parts of northern, southern and central Europe before. You are lacking in many parts of northern Central Europe and the Iberian Peninsula. Based on the distribution you can separate the two similar species well in some parts of Europe, because in some areas only one species occurs. They inhabit sunny slopes with grass cover, especially on calcareous soils and in the mountains. They are often found on coastal cliffs.
Flight time
The moths fly in one generation from mid-June to late July, the little Rockrose - Bläulinge represented by its two or three generations earlier in the year and also fly much longer.
Food of the caterpillars
The caterpillars feed on the same as that of ( A. agestis ) primarily yellow rock rose ( Helianthemum nummularium ) but also from cranesbill ( Geranium ) and heron beaks species ( Erodium ), such as of Small cranesbill (Geranium pusillum ) and herons (Erodium cicutarium ).
Development
The females lay their eggs on the leaf surface of forage crops. The caterpillars feed only on the underside of leaves. They overwinter in the soil in dried-up leaves, in addition to the plants.