Common Blue
Common Blue
Insect
Britain's most widespread blue butterfly. The males flash dazzling violet-blue over grassy meadows, while their caterpillars strike up a sweet partnership with ants.
💡 Fun Facts
- The male Common Blue shines a brilliant violet-blue, while the female is browner with pretty orange spots.
- Its caterpillars feed on bird's-foot-trefoil and are often looked after by ants in return for a sweet syrup they make.
- This little butterfly loves sunny grassy places and basks with its wings open to soak up the warmth.
📅 Through the Year
- Active:May to September
Name Story
Polyommatus icarus
means “many-eyed Icarus”
What does its name mean?
- Polyommatus — many-eyedGreek polys ‘many’ + omma ‘eye’
- icarus — IcarusGreek, after Icarus, the boy who flew in the old tale
Turn the wing over and you can count row upon row of tiny eye-spots — the ‘many eyes’ of its name. Icarus, the boy who flew too high in the old story, is just a decorative flourish.