This attractive species with electric blue uppersides in the male is very sporadic in southern Europe and is rarely abundant. It resembles both the Eastern short-tailed and Short-tailed Blues, but has a rather ‘neat’ appearance with a fine wing margin and only vestigial or an absence of orange spots on the underside. It is not a common species in Romania so I was pleasantly surprised when I found a stunning male in an overgrown brownfield site near the centre of Cluj-napoca.
Distribution: Patchy from NE Spain through southern Europe to the Czech Republic in the north and to Romania and Greece in the east. Absent from Mediterranean islands (except Corsica), southern Italy and much of the Balkans,
Flight Period: May-September in three broods.
Habitat: Woodland clearings and glades, open scrub, grassland. Often near watercourses and in low-lying areas up to 1200m.
Foodplants: Crown Vetch (Securigera varia), sainfoins (Onobrychis), Goat’s Rue (Galega officinalis) and other legumes.
Nectar Sources: Vetches (Vicia), forget-me-nots (Myosotis), hawkweeds (Hieracium) and other small flowers.
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- Provençal Short-tailed Blue, Cluj, Romania, June 2019
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- Provençal Short-tailed Blue, Cluj, Romania, June 2019
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- Provençal Short-tailed Blue, Cluj, Romania, June 2019
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- Provençal Short-tailed Blue, Cluj, Romania, June 2019
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- A closeup of Sainfoin, Onobrychis viciifolia (I tried to crop out the Silver-studded Blue who was resting on it!).
