Lang’s short-tailed blue

Leptotes pirithous pirithous

A tailed blue butterfly with a wingspan of 21-30 mm, females often larger and greyish-brown and blue while males are purplish-blue. Also called the “common zebra blue,” the Lang’s short-tailed lives in a variety of habitats, along the coastline, in farmland, alfalfa fields, waste ground, garrigue, scrubland, woodland, grassland, and semi-desert. Host plants include legumes like alfalfa (Medicago sativa), melilots (Melilotus spp.), sainfoin (Onobrychis spp.), clovers (Trifolium spp.), peas (Pisum spp.), as well as purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), hawthorn (Crataegus spp.), dwarf elder (Sambucus ebulus), and bird knotgrass (Polygonum aviculare). This migratory species flies February through October in several broods.

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