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Polyommatus eros

Eros Blue

Field Notes

Valais, Switzerland, July 2006

Valais, Switzerland, July 2006

Valais, Switzerland, July 2006

Valais, Switzerland, July 2006

Valais, Switzerland, July 2006

Valais, Switzerland, July 2006

Valais, Switzerland, July 2006

Valais, Switzerland, July 2005

Valais, Switzerland, July 2005

Valais, Switzerland, July 2005

Valais, Switzerland, July 2004

Valais, Switzerland, July 2004

Hautes Alpes, July 2004

Nasty case of red-mite infestation below head.

Valais, Switzerland, July 2004

Hautes Alpes, July 2004

Valais, Switzerland, July 2003

Gleaming bright blue uppersides are characteristic.

Valais, Switzerland, July 2003

Valais, Switzerland, July 2003

Valais, Switzerland, July 2003

Seconds later the true brilliance of the blue is revealed as
the butterfly launches for flight.

Valais, Switzerland, July 2003

Those black streaks on the underside forewing are a fairly typical
aberration across many of the blues.

This butterfly has a spectacular bright blue upperside in the male. This can be seen easily in flight. Otherwise this butterfly is superficially similar to the Common Blue, Polyommatus icarus which is extremely widespread across Europe. eros is restricted to several major mountains ranges including the Alps and Pyrenees. It is certainly a species of high altitude, becoming commoner above 2000m.

I found many of the males taking salts at damp ground and mud etc., often in fairly large congregations. Relatively I found very few females during my tours of the Alps in July 2003. I have no photographs unfortunately. I did find some laying on a species of purple flowered Milk-Vetch (Oxytropis sp.) at the unusually high altitude for butterflies of 2400m - not unusually for this Alpine species.

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