Polyommatus fabressei

• Interesting Facts
• Common Names
• Description
• Taxonomy
• Similar Species
• More Info
• Further Reading
• Notes

Interesting Facts

Common Names

Description

Family Lycaenidae

'The Lycaenidae are members of the Superfamily Papilionoidea, the true butterflies. Worldwide in distribution, this family has approximately 4,700 species that are unevenly distributed. Coppers are especially dominant in north temperate regions , blues are richest in the Old World tropics and north temperate zones, and hairstreaks are particularly abundant in New World tropics. The adults are typically small to tiny and often brilliantly colored--iridescent blues, bright reds, and oranges. Adults of both sexes have three pairs of walking legs , though most males have fused segments in their front legs. Most adults visit flowers for nectar, but some harvesters feed on wooly aphid honeydew and some hairstreaks feed on aphid honeydew or bird droppings. Females lay single, sea urchin shaped eggs on host leaves or flower buds; the resulting caterpillars are typically slug-shaped. In many species, caterpillars depend on ants for protection, so caterpillars produce sugary secretions that are collected by the ants. Most species overwinter in either the egg or pupal stage.

'[1]

Subfamily Polyommatinae

Blues are tiny to small butterflies of the Family Lycaenidae. Distributed worldwide, they are most diverse in Southeast Asia, tropical Africa, and northern temperate regions . Most of the nearly 50 North American species are found in the west. Adult males are predominantly blue above, due to reflected light rather than pigmentation . Some males and most females are largely brown above. Below, wings of both sexes are usually gray-white with black spots or streaks. Adults in some genera (Euphilotes, Lycaeides, Plebulina, and Icaricia) have more or less prominent orange submarginal bands on their hindwings . Most adults are found near their host plants , and they do not fly long distances , though some tropical and subtropical species undertake long migrations. Adults visit flowers for nectar. Males frequent moist sand and mud , and females lay eggs singly on host plant leaves or flowers. As caterpillars, they secrete sugary secretions that attract ants , and caterpillars of some species are raised in ant nests. Blues usually overwinter in the pupal stage.[2]

Habitat

Biome: Terrestrial [3].

Ecology: Oberthür’s Anomalous Blue occurs on dry, grassy slopes and in dry, often rocky places where short vegetation alternates with scrub . The female lays its eggs on the dry flower stalks of Sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia and O. argentea ). The caterpillars are attended by ants . This butterfly has one generation a year and hibernates in the larval stage . Habitats : sclerophyllous scrub (50%), dry calcareous grasslands and steppes (50%).[3].

List of Habitats:

•     3     Shrubland   
  
•     3.8     Shrubland - Mediterranean-type Shrubby Vegetation   
[more info]

Taxonomy

Similar Species

Members of the genus Polyommatus

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 17 species and subspecies in this genus:

P. aroaniensis (Grecian Anomalous Blue) · P. caelestissimus (Azure Chalkhill Blue) · P. coridon (Chalkhill Blue) · P. dama (Mesopotamian Blue) · P. dolus (Furry Blue) · P. eroides (False Eros Blue) · P. fabressei (Oberth?rs Anomalous Blue) · P. fulgens (Catalonian Furry Blue) · P. galloi (Higgin's Anomalous Blue) · P. golgus (Sierra Nevada Blue) · P. hispanus (Provence Chalkhill Blue) · P. humedasae (Piedmont Anomalous Blue) · P. icarus (Common Blue) · P. icarus icarus (Common Blue) · P. nephohiptamenos (Higginss Anomalous Blue) · P. nivescens (Mother-Of-Pearl Blue) · P. violetae (Andalusian Anomalous Blue)

More Info

• Search for Pictures: images.google.com
• Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
• Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
• Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books

Further Reading

• IUCN. 2010. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (ver. 2010.1). Available at: www.iucnredlist.org. (Accessed: 10 March 2010).
• Lafranchis, T., Gil-T, F., Lafranchis, A. 2007. New data on the ecology of 8 taxa of Agrodiaetus HÜBNER, 1822 from Greece and Spain: hostplants, associated ants and parasitoids (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae. Hymenoptera. Diptera). Atalanta 38(1/2): 189-197.
• Munguira, M.L.; Martín, J.; Pérez-Valiente, M. 1994. Karyology and distribution as tools in the taxonomy of Iberian Agrodiaetus butterflies (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae). Nota lepidopterologica 17(3/4): 125-140.

Notes

Contributors

• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 30, 2012.
• IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. . Downloaded on January 28, 2012.
• van Swaay, C., Wynhoff, I., Verovnik, R., Wiemers, M., López Munguira, M., Maes, D., Sasic, M., Verstrael, T., Warren, M. & Settele, J. 2010. Polyommatus fabressei. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloadedon 04February2012.

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal December 07, 2007:

• SysTax, Lobbecke Museum Dusseldorf

Identifiers

• Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 7207439
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 16085329
• IUCN ID: 234630
• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 2523149

Footnotes

1. http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/taxonomy?f=16&sci=Lycaenidae&com=Gossamer-wing Butterflies [back]
2. http://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=Plebulina&search=Search [back]
3. van Swaay, C., Wynhoff, I., Verovnik, R., Wiemers, M., López Munguira, M., Maes, D., Sasic, M., Verstrael, T., Warren, M. & Settele, J. 2010. Polyommatus fabressei. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 04 February 2012. [back]

©2004-2012 David Stang. All rights reserved.