LANG'S SHORT-TAILED BLUE
Lang’s short-tailed blue, which is also known as the common zebra blue, is a cracking little butterfly. They vary from 20mm to 30mm in size, with the males having purplish/blue upper wings and the female having brownish/blue uppers. It is the undersides which has prompted the name of zebra, with a light brown background covered in white wavy lines. They also have 2 black spots with orange edges on the hind wings. Let's not forget the 2 short tails which are dark with white tips.
Grassland and scrubland are the favoured habitats of this butterfly, although it can also be seen on cultivated land and gardens. There are many buddleia type bushes here in the southeast of Kefalonia and these butterflies love them. These butterflies also like most pea and bean plants and can become a pest in legume fields. This butterfly originates from north Africa but is now a resident here in the Mediterranean. The caterpillars are brown with white stripes and emerge from eggs laid on flower buds which are about to open.
