Common blue – Polyommatus icarus & Tortoiseshell – Aglais urticae

After we came back from Krakow, Tomek and I went along to a local grassland area on the edge of the forest. We went there because we knew there were loads of Burnett moths. We took a few containers with us, but one of the coolest things we saw was a teeny blue butterfly. There were actually a couple of them, but we managed to sneak up on one after a couple of attempts and catch it in a container. So we took it home, fed it some sugar water and kept it inside for a couple of days, photographed it and released it. This one behaved very much like the speckled wood back at Eastertime and each time it was released from the box it went for the window.

So here’s a few shots of it. Bear in mind that it’s tiny. Wing span is about 15mm (3/5 inch). I’ve included the reflection shot because my dad likes reflections. Would have been better without double glazing though. 😥

Common blue - Polyommatus icarus

Common blue - Polyommatus icarus

Common blue - Polyommatus icarus

Common blue - Polyommatus icarus

Having been unable to get a good straight-on shot of a tortosieshell here in Poland, have a look at the underside instead.

Tortoiseshell - Aglais urticae