Plebejus argyrognomon

Hostplant: In Norway the hostplant is Astragalus glycyphyllos. Further south in Europe it also lives on Coronilla varia. In my breeding efforts i started out with C.varia but later changed over to A.glycophyllos without any problem.

Lifecycle and behaviour: In captivity the eggs were laid mainly on the leaves. The eggs used 9-10 days to hatch. The young larva ate small patches in the leaf. As they grew larger they started eating the whole plant. The larval stages lasted 3,5-4 weeks and the larva molted 3 times. Pupal stages lasted 8-10 days. These timings are based on indoor captive breeding which may differ from natural outdoor conditions. In Norway the adult butterfly fly in one generation usually in July. Further south in Europe it has two generations. In my breeding they hatched the same summer. The egg overwinters.

Note: This species is protected under Norwegian law! My breeding was done with Polish stock that i found while living and studying in Poland for 6 years. The species in Norway is confined to a few small islands in the inner Oslofjord. Offical breeding efforts and planting of hostplant at the known localities and new suitable localities has been tried to save the species. Despite this, it hasn't been seen since 2013 and is believed to be extinct now. Since the Norwegian populations are separated from the rest of mainland Europe it is considered to be an own subspecies, ssp. norwegica.

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