Eastern Tailed-Blue

Cupido comyntas

The Eastern Tailed-Blue is a small butterfly with beautiful blue wings. It loves to flutter around flowers and is often seen in gardens and fields.

Lebensraum: Grasslands

Aussehen

The Eastern Tailed-Blue has iridescent blue upper wings in males, while females are duller blue or brownish-grey. Both sexes feature two small black spots and delicate, thread-like 'tails' near the hindwing margin, often edged with orange.

ReichAnimaliaStammArthropodaKlasseInsectaOrdnungLepidopteraFamilieLycaenidaeGattungElkalyce

Eastern Tailed-Blue

Kategorie

Insekten

Seltenheit

Common

Gefahr

1/5 · Sehr gering

Snaps

Mach den ersten Snap!

Interessante Fakten

Male Eastern Tailed-Blues often 'puddle' together, drinking minerals from damp ground!

Some Eastern Tailed-Blue caterpillars secrete a sugary fluid that ants love to drink!

Their tiny, ridged eggs are often laid one by one on the tender young leaves of host plants.

These butterflies are 'generalists' and can thrive in many different habitats, even bustling cities!

Besondere Fähigkeiten

Eastern Tailed-Blue has tiny 'tails' and eye-spots that mimic a head, making predators strike the wrong end, allowing for escape.

Its caterpillars can be green or brown and have a bumpy texture, helping them perfectly blend with their host plants to hide.

The butterfly has a long, straw-like proboscis that helps it reach deep into flowers to slurp up sweet nectar.

Maße und Details

Flügelspannweite: 25-35 mm
Größe: 20-30 mm
Lebenserwartung: 10-20 Tage
Anzahl der Beine: 6

Ernährung und Fütterung

Adults sip flower nectar; caterpillars munch on legume leaves.

Altersunterschiede: Larvae (caterpillars) feed on plant leaves and flowers; adults feed on nectar from various flowering plants.

Hauptnahrung

nectar
white clover
red clover
alfalfa
vetch
peas

Nahrungssuche

Foraging

Ökologische Zusammenhänge

pollinates

White Clover

Trifolium repens

Adults visit for nectar.

eaten by

Blue Jay

Cyanocitta cristata

A common bird predator.

depends on

Alfalfa

Medicago sativa

Larvae feed on leaves.

eaten by

Flower Crab Spider

Misumena vatia

Ambush predator on flowers.

Merkmale

Bestäubermagnet

Beschreibt Pflanzen, die für eine Vielzahl von bestäubenden Organismen besonders attraktiv und nützlich sind.

Farbenfroh

Farbenfroh beschreibt Organismen oder Objekte, die eine große Vielfalt an leuchtenden und deutlich erkennbaren Farben aufweisen.

Grasland

Grasland-Lebensräume sind terrestrische Biome, die von Gräsern und krautigen Pflanzen dominiert werden und einer Vielzahl von Weidetieren als Lebensraum dienen.