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Male. (The thin black border to the forewing distinguishes the sexes).
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1st-brood female. (The black border is slightly wider in the 2nd-brood).
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Underside. (This individual is taking in fluids from fresh horse manure!)
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Female laying on pyrancantha
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Information
| UK BAP status: | Not listed |
| Local status: | Common. Widespread across the county.
Numbers rise and fall with a period of 4-5 years as a result of the parasitic wasp Listrodomus nycthemrus which almost wipes out the species, and itself with it. Both species subsequently recover to repeat the cycle. |
| Size: | Small. |
| Larval foodplant: | Mainly Holly and Ivy, but may also use Dogwood, Spindle, Snowberry and several other shrubs including bramble. |
| No. of broods: | Two |
| Flight time(s): | Early April to Mid June. Early July to Early September. |
| Winter: | Pupa (The only Bedfordshire "Blue" that overwinters in this stage). |
| Habits: | Usually seen flying around tall shrubs and trees, often above head height. In summer sometimes seen flying around Ivy in large numbers. Usually rests with wings closed, but may open them in weak sun. |
| Habitats: | Hedgerows, woodlands, churchyards, gardens and parks. |
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Distribution
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No. of Adults
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No. of 1km Squares
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No. of Records
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No. of Adults per record
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No. of adults per 10,000 records
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Percentage of all records
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