Cyaniris semiargus semiargus

A commoner of the small blues with a wingspan of 32-38 mm, females are frequently larger and brown while males are a deep violet-blue with white wing fringes. The mazarine inhabits a variety of habitats, including riversides, woodland, forest clearings, damp meadows, fallow, flower-rich grassland, and shrubby slopes. Host plants include the legumes: melilot (Melilotus officinalis), greenweeds (Genista spp.), red clover (Trifolium pratense), and bladder clover (T. physodes). It flies May through early August, and could often be seen basking in groups.

Video

Photographs

 male

Attribution: Sharp Photography (Wikipedia Creative Commons)

Attribution: Frank Vassen (Wikipedia Creative Commons)

 female

Attribution: Harald Supfle (Wikipedia Creative Commons)

Attribution: Hectonichus (Wikipedia Creative Commons)