Common Blue or Holly Blue?

whyulittle

Any butterfly experts care to offer an opinion. No pics, but was out for a walk today and I spotted two blues at different points. Both were over head-height in ivy; habitat was along a disused railway line, so a long corridor of woodland with farmland outside that. Checking flight times on a mobile app, I initially put them down as Common Blues, but now reading a little more, thinking could have been Holly Blue? Didn't get a good enough look to rule in or out any orange on the underwing.

magicbastarder

according to the swatch pack i have from the national biodiversity centre, common blue usually only start appearing in late april/early may, but holly blue start to appear in march - so i'd plump for the latter on that?

whyulittle

Yeah I think so. I got my dates mixed up at first, read Holly from May onward, and Common from April, which was close enough to now for me.

Irish Butterflies shows Ivy as a foodplant for HB too. Thanks.

http://www.irishbutterflies.com/holly_blue_butterfly_of_ireland.html

axe2grind

Definitely Holly Blue.
Apart from flight season, Common Blue are not routinely above head height. Bird's foot trefoil is the larval foodplant. Although can be on the wing in late april in the likes of The Raven, it's usually well into May before seen in most places. Holly Blue are often seen along hedges and woodland edges, above head height a lot of the time. First generation caterpillars feed on Holly and 2nd Gen on Ivy, so double brooded with not much overlap between flight seasons of the 2 species.

diomed

I just love it when people know stuff in detail.

Trotters

I love that Holly Blue is so often seen on Ivy. Like in the Christmas carol?

Our garden has a holly bush and lots of ivy: but you never see the blue butterflies on the holly, they are all around the ivy though, every year. Always makes me smile.

whyulittle

Holy Blue, on Holly, in the garden


And not on Holly

Birdnuts

I saw blue butterflies in Corkeagh park yesterday - presume they were Holly Blues and they were seen in a hedge with Holly