Fluturat e Shqipërisë
Butterflies of Albania

Sylvain Cuvelier =
Anila Paparisto =

Last update: 05.viii.2023

Plebejus argyrognomon / Reverdin's Blue
Argirognomonia
Lycaenidae - Polyommatinae

Plebejus argyrognomon (Bergsträsser, 1779). TL: Hanau, Germany.

1a. Plebejus argyrognomon, distribution map. Historical data ; Additional data from the 2018 update ; New observations since the 2018 update.
1b. Plebejus argyrognomon ♂ lateral. Romania (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1c. Plebejus argyrognomon ♂ underside. Romania (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1d. Plebejus argyrognomon ♂ upperside. Romania (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1e. Plebejus argyrognomon ♂ underside. Romania (© Sylvain Cuvelier)

Description
♂♂
Small butterfly. Fw: 15-18 mm.
No tibial spines on front legs (not easy to see in the field even with a magnifying lens)
Ups: bright blue gc, narrow black border.
Uns: uniform clear white-light blue gc, complete band of orange submarginal lunules up to fw apex.
Unh: submarginal black lunules gently curved, marginal black ocelli with shining blue pupils, black v-shaped proximal to orange lunules gently curved.
Male genitalia distinctive.
♀♀
Slightly larger.
Ups: brown, often with a large basal blue suffusion, complete band of orange submarginal lunules up to fw apex.
Uns: light brown gc.
Unh: submarginal black lunules gently curved, marginal black ocelli with shining blue pupils, black v-shaped proximal to orange lunules gently curved.

Similar species

Plebejus argus Foreleg: strong spine on fore-tibia (not easy to see in the field even with a magnifying lens) Size:smaller. Ups: wide black marginal border. Uph: black along the costa. Unf: reduced or faint pale orange sm lunules in a rather regular band. Unh: black sm spots with blue-green pupils. Plebejus idas Foreleg: no spine on fore-tibia (not easy to see in the field even with a magnifying lens) Size:slightly smaller. Ups: (slightly) larger black marginal border. Uph: blue along the costa. Uph: ♂♂ row of contiguous triangular spots. Unf: complete pale orange submarginal band. Unh: sagittate black V-marks. Unh: black sm spots with blue-green pupils. Kretania sephirus Size:similar. Upf: narrow black marginal line. Upf: ♂♂ small black antemarginal spot(s) Upf: ♀♀ orange sm lunules with black spot. Unh: black submarginal spots lacking blue-green pupils (!!! very rarely one or two blue pupils)

Life cycle
Adults: two generations from May to August.
Egg: overwintering on the stem of the food plant near to the ground.
Caterpillar: 43-64 days in first generation, 27-40 days in second generation.
Pupa: 8-14 days.

Habitat
Plebejus argyrognomon inhabits flowery grasslands and mountains slopes from 400 up to 1500 m a.s.l.
Spatial requirement modest, population density can be high.

Foodplants
Caterpillars feed on Coronilla varia, also mentioned are Astragalus sp., Hippocrepis comosa, Lotus corniculatus, Melilotus officinalis, Onobrychis viciifolia and Securigera varia.
Butterflies feed on flowers in the herbal vegetation.

Distribution
Albania: widespread in the Northern Albanian Alps, local in other areas.
Balkan: AL - BG - BIH - GR - HR - NMK - MNE - RKS - RO - SLO - SRB
Europe: IB - IT - ALP - BAL - NWE* - UK - SCA* - EEU
Local in Asia Minor, Transcaucasia, Caucasus and further east.

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

Useful links
Bink 2015
Pyrgus.de
Lepiforum
Euroleps

Contact