Mazarine Blue
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 Mazarine Blue
(Polyommatus semiargus) |
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| Polyommatus semiargus (Rottemburg, 1775) |
The Mazarine Blue (Polyommatus semiargus) is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. Its size ranges anywhere from 28-34mm and can live at altitudes up to 2200m.
The Mazarine Blue's population is distributed throughout continental Europe, even reaching into the Arctic Circle, Asia and Middle East. A population of the butterfly used to reside in Britain until the population became extinct in 1904. Recently though the Mazarine Blue's numbers have been declining in European range (particularly Scandinavia) and the reason currently remains unclear.
The main plant the butterfly feeds off of is Red Clover and other species of Trifolium. Its habitats are meadows, pastures, grasslands and flowery areas. It seems to prefer places which are not fertilized and not used for fodder production.
The male Mazarine Blue's wings are a deep blue color and are slightly larger in diameter than the female's wings. The female Mazarine Blue is a brown color. In both sexes of the butterfly the Mazarine Blue lack orange markings and have a dark violet or brown body color. The butterfly has been compared to the Common Blue, and the Grecian Helena subspecies which has orange markings. Their flight time is from May to August.
