Plebejus orbitulus
Plebejus orbitulus | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Clade: | Euarthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Lepidoptera |
Family: | Lycaenidae |
Genus: | Plebejus |
Species: | P. orbitulus |
Binomial name | |
Plebejus orbitulus Prunner, 1798 | |
Synonyms | |
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Plebejus 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) and the mountains of Norway and Sweden.
![](../I/m/Plebeius_orbitulus.male.jpg)
![](../I/m/Plebeius_orbitulus.underside.jpg)
The wingspan is 25–30 mm. The male upperside varies from sky blue to a greyish or steely blue, and is unmarked apart from the narrow black borders and white fringes. The female is brown, often with a slight blue dust suffusion at the wing bases.The fore-wings end in a very pointed apex. Both sexes are clearly assigned by conspicuous white spots on the otherwise pale greyish brown or beige wing underside.The spots under the hind-wing are pure white and lack black centres. The butterfly flies from June to August depending on the location.
The larvae feed on Astragalus alpinus.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Plebejus orbitulus. |