Little Blue Butterfly

[Swanny48]

I suppose this is the butterfly equivalent of birders 'little brown jobbies'. I thought it was a Common Blue but my mate thought Chalkhill Blue. He couldn't tell me how to tell them apart though?
These were taken in the evening when they'd returned to their roosting areas.
John

1)[IMG]5D-7294-Edit.jpg by John Swanborough, on Flickr[/IMG]

2)
[IMG]5D-7299-Edit.jpg by John Swanborough, on Flickr[/IMG]

3)
[IMG]5D-7301.jpg by John Swanborough, on Flickr[/IMG]

[Stan]

Re: Little Blue Butterfly

both small butterflies but you could more easily spot the difference looking at the top of the wings, particularly in the males - the common blue is blue with a white fringing and the chalkhill blue going to brown towards the edges before the white fringing and spots along the edge of the hind wings.

Looking at shots of the underside in one of my books, they look similar but the chalkhill has what looks like a more triangular spot in the middle of the wing which isnt there in a common

anyway, to the shots, I like the first two but sure about the last one

stan

[TonyT]

Re: Little Blue Butterfly

Same here, not sure about three, as for what they are.... using my extensive knowledge on the subject I have determined they are butterflies....... or possibly moths...

[Swanny48]

Re: Little Blue Butterfly

Thanks for comments guys and the ID help ??? With the last shot, I was hoping to get a silhouette against a setting red sun but when the sun dropped behind the hill, it was still far too bright.

John

[Trev B]

Re: Little Blue Butterfly

I think its a Chalk Hill Blue going by the second picture, always good with the Blues to get a top and bottom wing shot if possible, even if one or the other is rubbish its helps with identification --
BTW - like the second shot

[tesarver]

Re: Little Blue Butterfly

Another vote on the 1st 2

Tom