Polyommatus icarus

Hostplant: Plants within Fabaceae, in Norway main hostplants are Trifolium spp. and Lotus spp. I used Lotus pedunculatus and L.corniculatus in my breeding.

Lifecycle and behavior: The female laid eggs on all parts of the plant. The eggs used 5-6 days to hatch. The newly hatched larva dug its head in between the outermost layers of the leaves and ate the leaf pulp inside, leaving small transparent windows in the leaf surface. As they grew bigger, they seemed to prefer the flowers and flower buds. Although they ate all parts of the plant, also the seedpods. Larval stages lasted about 3 weeks and they molted 3 times. Pupal stages lasted another 9-12 days. The adults are on the wing usually from late May until September. It usually has two generations in one summer in Norway.