Lycaena argyrognomon

Argyrognomon (from Latin) - a silver pointer on a sundial ^[1] .

Fore wing length 14 - 16 mm. Wingspan up to 30 mm. Females on the upper side of the wings are often blue-dusted. In males, silver flakes in the center of the marginal black dots in the anterior part of the wing are sometimes absent, and then only one ocular spot remains in the cell Cu1-Cu2. Small males in appearance are often very similar to Plebejus idas (Linnaeus, 1761)

The species range covers the temperate zone of Eurasia.

In Eastern Europe, the species is distributed throughout the region, except for the north, but everywhere it is quite local. The northern border of the range passes through the territory of Latvia, and in Russia - along the south of the Komi Republic, the Kirov region and Udmurtia. A rare species in the north-east of the region, in Poland and Lithuania. It is most often found in the steppe part of the southeast of European Russia. Often, but locally lives in Ukraine and the Western Caucasus ^[2] . Known from the Crimea only by a few finds from the Yaila ^[3] .

Butterflies inhabit a variety of biotopes, but more often they live in dry places - steppes, in dry steppe meadows, limestone and chalk outcrops, among woodlands. In the middle lane, butterflies inhabit various types of meadows, fringes of mixed forests, sand pits, and anthropogenic biotopes. In the Carpathians it rises to the mountains at heights of up to 800 m above sea level. m. In the Caucasus inhabits mountain meadows and slopes with areas of steppe vegetation, shrubs and light forests at heights of up to 1,500 m above sea level ^[2] .

In most of Eastern Europe, it develops in two generations over the year; in the Caucasus - two or three generations. The flight time lasts almost continuously from mid-May to early September, and in years with a warm fall - until the end of October.

Females lay eggs individually on caterpillar feed plants - leguminous plants such as astragalus , salt-leaved astragalus , multicolored yarns , medicinal sweet clover , securiguere variable , honey lamb , alfalfa , sainfoin . The color of the egg is white with a greenish tint. Eggs or caterpillars of the first age overwinter. Caterpillars pass 4 ages, are myrmecophiles and come into contact with ants Lasius niger , Lasius alienus , Myrmica scabrinodis , Myrmica sabuleti , Camponotus vagus . Pupils on leaves or on inflorescences in a specially woven cocoon, often in the nests of ants. Pupa elongated, shiny, green, with a dark dorsal stripe.

• Lvovsky A. L. , Morgun D. V. Qualifiers for the flora and fauna of Russia. Issue 8 // Lepidoptera Lepidoptera of Eastern Europe. - M .: Partnership of scientific publications of KMK, 2007. - 443 p. - 2000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-87317-362-4 .
• Tolman T., Lewington R. Collins Field Guide Butterflies of Britain & Europe - London: Harper Collins Publishers, 1997.— 320 p., 106 col. pl

• Plebejus argyrognomon (Bergsträsser, 1779) - Lycaena argyrognomon