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  13. ›Lysandra
Chalkhill Blue
Plate 1 of 6. (c) Anne SORBES, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), uploaded by Anne SORBES · via iNaturalist

Chalkhill Blue

Polyommatus coridon

The chalkhill blue (Lysandra coridon) is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is a small butterfly that can be found throughout the Palearctic realm, where it occurs primarily in grasslands rich in chalk. Males have a pale blue colour, while females are brown. Both have chequered fringes around their wings.

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From the article Chalkhill blue on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section

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Description

Lysandra coridon has a wingspan of 30–36 millimetres (1.2–1.4 in). These small butterflies present a sexual dimorphism. The males having pale silvery-blue upperside of the wings with a submarginal line of grey spots on the hindwings and a thin brown and white chequered fringe. Females have dark brown upperside of wings, with marginal orange spots and also with chequered fringes. The underside of the wings show a light ochre colouration, several dark spots surrounded by white, a submarginal line of black marks, a series of marginal orange spots on the hindwings and a blue dusting near the body. As with many blue butterflies, separation from similar species in the field is on the underside markings. Aberrations are common.

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Range & habitat

This species can be found in the Palearctic realm (western Europe, southern Europe, central Europe, Asia Minor, south Urals, and northwest Turan). The range of L. coridon occurs throughout Central Europe, and is endemic to Europe. There are a few exceptions to where it is located in Central Europe: it is not found in the countries of Ireland, Scotland, Scandinavia, the Netherlands, the Iberian Peninsula (except in its northern provinces), some Mediterranean islands (found in Corsica and Sardinia), and most of southern Italy.

Wikipedia: “Geographical range”

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This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 109983.