Zephyr Blue??? in Turkey.

[rezamink]

Just got back from Mugla Province in Turkey.

Looking for an ID on this Male Blue...

Found a small colony on what appeared to be some sort of pea.

Zephyr Blue?

Males had interesting behaviour, they always rested 'head down' on the tops of Grass / flower heads with wings tightly shut (So no shot of Uppers!). If another Male approached they would rapidly flick their wings.

[Padfield]

Hello Rezamink.

That's a lovely shot but I think the butterfly is most likely a common blue, Polyommatus icarus. It's definitely in the old genus Polyommatus (common blue, Eros blue, false Eros blue - indicated by the cell spot, fringe characters and pattern of white in the discal part of the hindwing). Of those three, common blue is distributionally the only real candidate, but I'll check to see if there are any more species in Turkey.

I've just got back home with hundreds of my own photos to process, so will take another look later if no one else has gone definitive.

Guy

[rezamink]

Thanks Guy...

Slightly disappointed it's not a bit more exotic!

Definately behaved completely differently to the ones we see in the UK... but I guess it's never 36 degrees C in the UK!!!

[legless2007]

I was also in Mugla province last week, I thought this one might have been a Zephyr?

again, not the best angle.


060611-19 by legless2007, on Flickr

I'm so bad at blues.

Jo

[legless2007]

Thanks Guy...

Slightly disappointed it's not a bit more exotic!

Definately behaved completely differently to the ones we see in the UK... but I guess it's never 36 degrees C in the UK!!!

they don't sit still in Turkey do they?

[legless2007]

also have you seen this site?

http://www.kelebek-turk.com/index.php