Fluturat e Shqipërisë
Butterflies of Albania

Sylvain Cuvelier =
Anila Paparisto =

Last update: 14.iv.2024

Cupido alcetas / Provençal Short-tailed Blue
E Blujta provençale me bishta të shkurtër
Lycaenidae - Polyommatinae

Cupido alcetas (Hoffman[n]segg, 1804) TL: Austria.

1a. Cupido alcetas, distribution map. Historical data ; Additional data from the 2018 update ; New observations since the 2018 update.
1b. Cupido alcetas ♂ upperside. Italy (© Tom Kristensen)
1c. Habitat of Cupido alcetas. Italy (© Tom Kristensen)
1d. Cupido alcetas ♀ underside. Greece (© Lazaros Pamperis)
1e. Cupido alcetas ♂ lateral. Greece (© Lazaros Pamperis)

Description
♂♂
Small butterfly. Fw: 13-16 mm.
Ups: violet-blue gc, narrow black marginal border.
Hw: short tail at v2.
Upf: no black discal spot.
Uph: antemarginal black spot in s2.
Uns: very pale white-greyish gc, small spots, sometimes incomplete series.
Unf: narrow discal line.
Unh: small black marginal spot in s2 and a small grey lunule towards the base, between this spot and the lunule, sometimes faint orange coloured.
♀♀
Similar size.
Ups: black gc, unmarked.
Uns: similar as ♂♂.

Similar species

Cupido argiades Hw: tail. Upf: ♂♂ small discal spot. Upf: ♀♀ conspicuous discal spot. Upf: narrow black marginal border. Uns: pale grey gc. Unh: conspicuous orange dots (2 or 3) Unh: displaced pd spot in s6. Unh: strong black dots bordering orange spots. Cupido decolorata ♂♂ Hw: tail. Upf: black discal spot. Upf: wide marginal border extending on veins. Uns: pale grey gc. Unh: no (rarely vague) orange dot(s) Unh: displaced pd spot in s6. Unh: black spot and lunule. Cupido decolorata ♀♀ Indistinguishable. Cupido minimus and Cupido osiris Hw: no tail.

Life cycle
Adults: two to three generations, from May to August.
Egg: short stage.
Caterpillar: overwintering as full-grown larva.
Pupa: short stage.

Habitat
Cupido alcetas inhabits open mesophilic grasslands with flowering plants, often wet places near forests, running water and lakes from lowland up to 1500 m a.s.l.
Spatial requirement low, population density can be high.

Foodplants
Caterpillars feed on Galega officinalis, Lathyrus latifolius, Lotus corniculatus, Medicago sp., Securigera varia, Trifolium pratense and Vicia sp, also mentioned is Colutea arborescens.
Butterflies feed on higher flowers, males are perching.

Distribution
Albania: few records (more research needed)
Balkan: AL - BG - BIH - GR - HR - NMK - MNE - RKS - RO - SLO - SRB
Europe: IB* - IT - ALP - BAL - NWE* - UK - SCA - EEU*
Asia Minor, Transcaucasia, Caucasus and further east.

Conservation status
Cupido alcetas is not endangered.
Albanian Red List: NE.
IUCN Red List, category at the Mediterranean level: LC.

Useful links
Pyrgus.de
Lepiforum
Euroleps

Contact