Species Account for Celastrina argiolus
Celastrina argiolus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Holly Blue
Lepidoptera: butterflies: Lycaenidae
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Taxonomic group: butterflies (Lepidoptera: butterflies) - County data
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Holly Blue on UK Butterflies website
Species text
The Holly Blue is a frequent visitor to parks, woodland edges and gardens. It flits around bushes taking nectar or feeding from honeydew and, in a sense, this behaviour provides a link between the tree-top dwelling Hairstreaks and the more ground-hugging members of the Lycaenid family. Females that emerge in the spring tend to lay their eggs on Holly, whereas the summer brood utilise Ivy. The Holly Blue is parasited and, as such, its numbers are always kept in check, exhibiting a cyclical trend over a period of 5 to 7 years. References
Habitats
Recorded management for locations with Celastrina argiolus
Recorded substrate and hydrology for locations with Celastrina argiolus
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