Saturday 30 July 2011

True blue




All taken using hand-held Canon Powershot A640

Another `Blue` butterfly, this time the Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus). This butterfly is still a regular sight in our countryside, being our most common and widespread `Blue` species. It is found from sea level to mountains throughout Britain, although is absent in Shetland. Its` success could be due it being found in a variety of habitats, including damp meadows, heaths, woodland, roadside verges, waste ground and even suburban gardens.

It is double-brooded, with the first adults flying in May and June with the second brood flying in August and September, although sometimes this becomes blurred and the butterfly can be found in July (as in this case). The male has violet blue wings, finely edged with clear white wing margins, with the female being brown, but also has the white wing fringes, although in some areas there are blue varieties of the female with the subspecies
mariscolre being particularly beautiful ( this is found in Ireland and north-west Scotland).

19 comments:

  1. Now that is a stunning image of a beautiful little butterfly...
    I have seen them but only when I leave the camera at home... doh!

    ReplyDelete
  2. HI John...Wow he is a faboulous color of blue..just gorgeous...
    Well there.. you may not have as colorful a Kestrel as we do ,but we don't have this butterfly beauty either! lol
    Nice photos....Grace

    ReplyDelete
  3. "Common" but still very beautiful and not common enough in my opinion. The second shot in particular seems to have captured the vibrancy and sheen of the wings.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Beautiful images John, especially as they are hand held.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Dear John,
    thank you for these pictures - they are absolutely lovely! I would call the butterflies "Wedgwood Blues" - so cute!

    ReplyDelete
  6. A great series of shots of a beautiful butterfly.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi John. I'm still having trouble logging-in in the ususal way (it's me, not you!).
    Not only are these great pictures but you have made it very easy to identify this lovely creature. Thanks!
    Click here for Bazza’s Blog ‘To Discover Ice’

    ReplyDelete
  8. Brilliant images John,your Canon Powershot A640 produces fantastic images,I'm very impressed by the results.
    Superb detail, with fab blue colours.
    John.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Beautiful, and I love the one where you can also see the underside of the wings.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi John I have had lots of problems logging-in recently so I am often just visiting without leaving a comment. I am (fairly) sure it will get sorted out soon. Bazza
    Click here for Bazza’s Blog ‘To Discover Ice’

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi Andrew,
    The colour of this `Blue` is stunning, not quite as bright as the `Adonis`, but close!
    If you carry a camera, you never see anything and when you don`t everything is showing, Sod`s Law, I think it`s called!
    J

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi Grace,
    Thankyou, I am not sure one outweighs the other, I would like to have both! Or is that just greedy! ;)
    J

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi John,
    Thankyou, yes, unfortunately, that is to be said for all our butterflies this year, I have yet to see the numbers that I remeber from years gone by!
    J

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hi Roy,
    Thankyou! Some day I may splash out on a DSLR, but until then I am happy with my pocket camera!
    J

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hi Britta,
    I am glad you enjoyed them. Yes, `Wedgewood Blue` would be a good name for them ;)
    J

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hi Bazza,
    You are too kind! As for the Blogger thing, I think sometimes it has a mind of its own, very temperamental and very annoying!
    J

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hi John,
    Thankyou very much! Yes, I am quite pleased with the results I have been getting, as I have said before though, I would love to get my hands on a DSLR!
    J

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hi Susan,
    Thankyou. Yes, with that one you can see the difference in the underwing, not quite as blue, but still beautiful.
    J

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to comment on my humble blog.