Pseudophilotes baton
Pseudophilotes baton, the baton blue, is a butterfly belonging to the Lycaenidae family. It is found in central and southern Europe and then east across the Palearctic to the Russian Far East.
The wingspan is 10–11 mm. The butterfly flies from April to September.
Description in Seitz
L. baton Bgstr. . Upperside blackish, the male more or less dusted with blue, the forewing with a distinct discocellular spot, the fringes spotted. Beneath numerous ocelli on a leaden grey ground, larger on the forewing, the latter usually even with ocelli near the base, The hindwing with red-yellow spots before the margin in typical specimens. Throughout Central and South Europe, with the exception of England, occurring from Pommerania and the Baltic Provinces to the Mediterranean, and from Belgium to Central Asia. — A form very similar to true baton beneathwithout the reddish yellow anal spots occurs singly everywhere among ordinary baton, being especially plentiful in the south of Europe; this is ab. panoptes Hbn. . — vicrama Moore , from Afghanistan, has no distinct discocellular spot on the upperside of the forewing, there being also no dark marginal dots on the hindwing above. — cashmirensis Moore , from Kashmir, has a distinct black discocellular spot on the forewing like the European forms
on the upperside, moreover, the forewing bears whitish marginal lunules and dark veins and the hindwing marginal dots. — Larva laterally strongly carinate, the segments somewhat swollen, light green with blackish head and rosy-red pyriform dorsal spots divided by a purple dorsal line and accompanied laterally by white dots; stigmata white. In April and again in July, on Thymus, particularly at the flowers; in captivity it often attacks other caterpillars. Pupa roundish, obtuse, smooth, clay-yellow, with darker wing-cases; on the ground.
The butterflies are on the wing in May and again in August and September, frequenting very sunny
grassy hills and slopes, clearings in woods and broad sunny roads. They fly usually very short distances and settle on grasses and the tops of herbage with the wings half open and widely separated. The flight is slow, somewhat hopping, and the butterflies are not shy. While they occur more singly in Central Europe, they are extremely frequent in South Europe and North Africa, where they often fly in great abundance. In the extreme east of the area of distribution, in Kashmir, they are local, but very common.
The larvae feed on thyme, Clinopodium acinos, lavender and Mentha.
Subspecies
- Pseudophilotes baton baton
- Pseudophilotes baton jacuticus Korshunov & Viidalepp, 1980