Bug FAQShort-tailed Blue
Everes argiades · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Lycaenidae
The male short-tailed blue has violet upper wings edged in brown and a black tail tipped white, with black spots edged faintly in white. It lives from sea level up to about 1500 m in meadows, forest edges, clearings and glades where flowers grow, and flies from May to September, sometimes starting in late April.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Males show violet uppersides on both fore- and hindwings, each edged with brown, and a black tail with a white tip. The wings carry black spots, some with a slight white edge.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Specimens from very dry areas in Upper Burma and Great Nicobar Island are especially small and pale, with faint underside markings.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
Found from sea level to about 1500 m in meadows, forest edges, woodland clearings and glades that have flower cover.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Larvae are light green with a dark dorsal stripe, side streaks, and brown-white spots, feeding on legume plants such as Lotus uliginosus.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults fly from May through September, varying by location, with an isolated Armenian population beginning in late April.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its range extends from Europe across to Japan and includes India.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
Similar species include the southern short-tailed blue (Cupido alcetas) of southern Europe and the eastern short-tailed blue (Cupido decolorata).
Source: Wikipedia
More photos
Questions people ask
What plants do the larvae eat?
The larvae feed on legume plants, for example Lotus uliginosus.
Source: Wikipedia
When can I see them?
Adults are on the wing from May to September, sometimes starting in late April in Armenia.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Lycaenidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short-tailed_blue
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.