Tarucus rosaceus rosaceus

A small tailed blue butterfly with a wingspan of 18-22 mm, males are lilac blue while females are bluish-brown, nearly indistinguishable from the little tiger. The Mediterranean tiger lives in drier parts of the country, along the coast and in farmland and semi-desert. Host plants include members of the buckthorn family such as Christ’s-thorn (Paliurus spina-christi) and jujube (Ziziphus jujuba). It flies March through September, the flight is fast, erratic, and close to the ground.

 

Attribution: Sharp Photography (Wikipedia Creative Commons)