Silver Forget-me-not

Description:

Lycaenidae; Lycaeninae; Polyommatini; Catochrysops strabo luzonensis Tite, 1959. When I see a Silver Forget-me-not, like the one shown here, I can't tell if it is a male or a female unless it opens its wings and presents me with a dorsal view. The dorsal views of male and female are well displayed in the pictures shown in Philippine Lepidoptera. However, this specimen did not give me a dorsal view. So, none of this information could help much. But when I saw the abdomen curved downwards so that the posterior was touching the leaf, I thought that it was reasonable to assume that this is a female starting to lay her eggs. So, I backed away and left her in peace.

Habitat:

Spotted in the rice mill backyard on unidentified foliage. This is a quiet place where the general public do not have access and the rice mill workers rarely have any reason to go there. The vegetation is cut down perhaps twice a year, but only in the central part of the yard. There are many little corners which are almost inaccessible and that is where the Polyommatini can be spotted almost every morning of the year.