Common Blue female,

Description:

Males are very consistent in appearance, the uppersides being violet-blue with plain white fringes. Females vary considerably - they always have orange submarginal lunules, but some are almost devoid of blue and strongly resemble the Brown Argus, while others are heavily dusted with blue scales. The undersides of both sexes of Common Blue are marked with a pattern of white-ringed black spots and orange crescents. Sometimes aberrant forms can be found in which the black spots are elongated into a series of short bars. Other rare forms occur in which the spots are reduced in size, or entirely absent. In all forms the male has a greyish ground colour with bluish scales around the base of the wings. Females instead have greenish scales at the wing bases, and a pale brown ground colour.

Habitat:

The Common Blue is found throughout Europe, from the extreme north of Scandinavia to the smallest islands of the Mediterranean. Beyond Europe, it's range extends from the Middle East across temperate Asia to northern China. It also occurs in north Africa and the Canary Islands. At sites where bird's foot trefoil grows in profusion. At the backyard garden