Dusky large blue
The dusky large blue is a small butterfly whose whole life is tied to one plant, the great burnet. The boys are blue on top and the girls are dark brown. Underneath, its wings are coffee brown with one row of little eye spots.
How fast is it?
Fun facts
The mother lays her eggs on the great burnet, a meadow plant with dark red flower heads.
Its caterpillar changes colour as it grows: pale at first, then purple brown.
It flies in July and August, often together with its cousin, the scarce large blue.
Where it lives, there are often quite a lot of them.
Most asked questions about Dusky large blue
?What plant does the dusky large blue need?
The great burnet. Its eggs are laid on it and its caterpillars eat it.
?Where does the dusky large blue live?
In damp meadows in Central and Eastern Europe and western Asia.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Phengaris nausithous
- Group
- Butterflies
- Family
- Lycaenidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Lycaenidae
- Lives on
- Europe, Asia
Where the facts come from
- Dusky large blue (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Matt Rowlings. CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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