Parques de Portugal

<p> <em>Phengaris alcon</em> (Denis &amp; Schifferm&uuml;ller, 1775)</p>

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  • Alcon Blue

  • Phengaris alcon (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775)

  • Lycanidae

  • The alcon blue gets its name due to the blue colouration on the upper part of its wings, while the lower part is of a brownish colour. The female is darker. It can measure up to 3,5 cm span.

  • Alvão Nature Park

  • Norte

  • Not Evaluated

  • The alcon blue lives on peatlands and moist marshes where there are ants of the Myrmica genus and the gentian plant (Gentiana pneumonanthe). It lays its eggs on the flowers of that plant, from which the caterpillars hatch. At a certain time, the caterpillars drop to the ground, where they are found by the ants, who adopt them and carry to the anthill. In the anthill, the caterpillar transforms into a chrysalis, becoming the butterfly only months later.

  • Summer

  • The caterpillar of the alcon blue feeds on the ovary of the gentian flower and the adult on the nectar of heather and other plants.

  • There is no estimate for the national population of this species.