Male or Female Long-Tailed Blue?

Discussion forum for getting a butterfly identified.
Post Reply
RolandRamsdale
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun Oct 08, 2023 7:55 pm

Male or Female Long-Tailed Blue?

Post by RolandRamsdale »

Can anyone tell me whether this roosting Long-tailed Blue is a male or a female?
Long Tailed Blue roosting on Hemp Agrimony Seedhead 018-104 (24)-crop.JPG
I found it at Butts Meadow TQ 5836 0205 in Eastbourne, Sussex on 8/10/2023. It was on the seedheads of Hemp Agrimony.

I assume from the condition of the fringes and the intact tails that it is from an egg laid in this country.
User avatar
Jack Harrison
Posts: 4618
Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2006 8:55 pm
Location: Nairn, Highland
Contact:

Re: Male or Female Long-Tailed Blue?

Post by Jack Harrison »

Roland:
I assume from the condition of the fringes and the intact tails that it is from an egg laid in this country.
See this comment I made recently:

viewtopic.php?t=11844

The fine condition of your Long-tailed Blue RR is gives no indication as to its origin.

Jack
User avatar
bugboy
Posts: 5201
Joined: Mon Dec 01, 2014 6:29 pm
Location: London

Re: Male or Female Long-Tailed Blue?

Post by bugboy »

Nothing is migrating north now so this will have been a homegrown individual. There's been plenty of sightings in the Eastbourne area. As to it's sex, you can't tell from the underside alone. In some butterflies (lycenids for example) the females have a slightly more rounded outer edge to the forewing, so using that I would suggest yours may be a female, but this only moves the likelihood from 50/50 to perhaps 70/30 at a stretch.
Some addictions are good for the soul!
Post Reply

Return to “Identification”