google-play-not-available-title

google-play-not-available-text

Lang's Short-tailed Blue

Leptotes pirithous
Local Pest Control
Leptotes pirithous
Mobile App
An insect specialist
right in your pocket
Download from AppStoreDownload from GooglePlayDownload from AppStore
Download from AppStore

Summary

Leptotes pirithous, the Lang's short-tailed blue or common zebra blue, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae.

Lang's Short-tailed Blue

Leptotes pirithous
Local Pest Control

Tags

garden pest
crop pest
pest

Scientific classification

kingdom: Animalia
phylum: Arthropoda
class: Insecta
order: Lepidoptera
family: Lycaenidae
genus: Leptotes

People often ask

Where does lang's short-tailed blue live?
What does lang's short-tailed blue eat?
When does lang's short-tailed blue fly?
How long does a lang's short-tailed blue live?
Does lang's short-tailed blue migrate?
How big does a lang's short-tailed blue get?

Description

Leptotes pirithous is a small butterfly with a wingspan of 21–29 mm in males and 24–30 mm in females. The uppersides of the wings are purple bluish in males, bluish brown in female. The undersides are dark beige striped with white lines. The hindwings show marginal orange and black spots and two small tails. For the design of the undersides of the wings they can be confused with Lampides boeticus and Cacyreus marshalli. These butterflies fly from February to November depending on the location. They are regular migrants. The larvae feed on the flowers and fruits of Fabaceae, Rosaceae and Plumbaginaceae species, including Plumbago capensis, Indigofera, Rynchosia, Vigna, Burkea, Mundulea, Melilotus, Crataegus, Quercus suber, Medicago sativa, Trifolium alexandrinum, Arachis hypogaea, Lythrum, Calluna, Genista, Dorycnium, Lythrum salicaria, Calluna vulgaris, Onobrychis viciifolia, Ulex and Melilotus alba. A life cycle takes about four to eight weeks, depending on the temperature.

Distribution

This species can be found in southern Europe (Spain, France and Italy), along the Mediterranean coast, in Asia Minor up to the Himalayas, and in most of Africa and Madagascar.