Glaucopsyche alexis

Hostplant: Different plants of Fabaceae. In my breedings i've tried Vicia cracca, Lotus corniculatus and Lathyrus pratensis, all with success.

Lifecycle and behaviour: The female lay the eggs almost exclusively closeby and around the small flowerbuds. The eggs hatch after 4-5 days. The young larva targets the small flowerbuds first, burrowing its head inside the buds and eating the insides. As they grow bigger they start eating the whole plant, but seem to still prefer the flowers over the leaves. I found that the larval apperance changes with the type of larval hostplant. When using Vicia cracca, which has purple flowers, the larva got a more purpleish color. With Lotus corniculatus and Lathyrus pratensis, which has yellow flowers, the larva subsequently got a more yellowish color. The whole larval stage lasted 2,5-3 weeks, and they molted 3 times. The timings are based on indoor captive breeding and may differ from natural outdoor conditions. The adult is on the wing from mid May until late June in one generation. In Norway the pupa hibernates. Some of the pupa even hibernates twice. A theory i have is that it does this to limit the amount of inbreeding in a local population.

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