Blue Butterflies

As we all agree that butterflies are beautiful colorful creatures which have different shapes and sizes depending on its species. One such butterfly family is the Lycaenidae which are commonly referred to as “blue” because they are predominantly blue in color. They are also called “coppers” or “hairstreaks”.

The top surface of the wings is usually shades of blue. But sometimes they can be purple or even red. They may have many different colors on their undersides which can be seen when they are resting.

Types of Blue Butterflies

The Lycaenidae family and its subfamilies have varieties of blue butterflies such as the Chequered Blue Butterfly, Common Grass Blue Butterfly, and Large Blue Butterfly. Chequered blue and common grass is mainly found in Australia and the large blue butterfly is found in Europe and some parts of Asia. This butterfly had become extinct in the UK in 1979 but they were re-introduced by conservationists. They are not found anywhere else in the world.

Large Blue Butterflies Habitat

Female large blue butterflies will only lay their eggs on wild thyme or marjoram buds. The caterpillars of the large blue butterflies feed on wild Thyme and Marjoram in their initial stages of development. The caterpillar then drops itself from the plant and wait for a passing red ant to pick it up and take it to their nests.

Later on they hibernate in the tunnels of red ants (Myrmica sabuleti). After hibernation, they feed on eggs and larvae of red ants for about 3 weeks. The caterpillar will then hang itself upside down by its legs attached to the ant nests and take a further 3 weeks to grow into an adult large blue butterfly.

Another interesting fact is that while the caterpillar lives in the red ant nests, the ants stroke them with their antenna. The caterpillar secretes small drops of honey dew which the ants and their young ones feed on. This is simply an amazing act of nature! This act of perfect accordance between the red ants and the caterpillars of large blue butterflies is something worth acknowledging.

As mentioned earlier, large blue butterflies were extinct in 1979. But thanks to the charity Butterfly Conservation and the Center for Ecology and Hydrology who helped in re-introducing this beautiful species again. We as citizens of this world must also strive to conserve endangered butterfly species to make our world a more beautiful place to live in.