Photo © Pete Eeles
Common Blue
Polyommatus icarus
Checklist Number61.018 [B&F: 1574]
Verification
Record will be accepted (subject to date and location checks)
Classification
| Family: | Lycaenidae |
| Subfamily: | Polyommatinae |
| Genus: | Polyommatus |
| Species: | icarus |
| Authority: | (Rottemburg, 1775) |
Common on downland, sand-dunes, sea cliffs, heaths, waste ground, quarries and rough grassland; 0-700 m (0-2900 m in Europe) throughout much of the British Isles; mainland Europe and Fennoscandia. In Hampshire and on the Isle of Wight widespread and common. Wingspan 28-36 mm. Larva feeds on Bird's-foot Trefoil, Greater Bird's-foot Trefoil, Common Restharrow and Black Medick, subsequently living underground where attended by ants.