tags: blue butterfly, Image of the Day
The large blue butterfly, Maculinea arion, made its earliest recorded appearance at Collard Hill, Somerset, UK, on 2 June. The National Trust-owned site is the only place in the UK where the public have access to see the nation's rarest butterfly.
Image: Butterfly Conservation [larger]
Whoa. That is gorgeous.
That is one of the most beautiful butterflies I've ever seen.
American species of Blues tend to be diminutive, requiring close-focus binoculars or a macro photo to get the field marks (I do not net butterflies). One of the pleasures of participating in the Houston July 4 NABA butterfly count in 2006 was the large numbers of Ceraunus Blues we found along White Oak Bayou a short distance north of the North 610 Loop. Eastern Tailed Blues were always a sign of spring in late March in Northern Virginia as they nectared on Henbit flowering in lawns.