Small Blue (Cupido minimus)

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Male (Has a scattering of blue scales)
Male (Has a scattering of blue scales)
Female (Probably. No blue scales evident)
Female (Probably. No blue scales evident)
Underside
Underside
Probably a female
Probably a female
Mark-release-recapture work underway to discover more about the mobility of this species
Mark-release-recapture work underway to discover more about the mobility of this species
Laying in kidney vetch flower head
Laying in kidney vetch flower head
 
Information

Law: Protection under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
UK BAP status: Priority Species
Local status: Local BAP Species - A Species Action Plan exists for this species in Bedfordshire.
Local and uncommon. Generally exists in small colonies, but one large colony is known to exist.
Occasional sightings away from the chalk require investigation - their reason in unexplained. (Some, but not all, could be Chimney Sweeper moths which fly at the same time)
Size: Small. (Britain's smallest butterfly)
Larval foodplant: The flowers of kidney vetch.
No. of broods: Primarily one. A partial second brood may occur.
Flight time(s): Mid-May to late June. A partial second brood may occur in August.
Winter: Fully grown larva hibernates then pupates in spring without further feeding.
Habits: Males perch on low vegetation. Females tend to rest near the Kidney Vetch.
Habitats: Only found on disturbed chalk where its sole foodplant grows.
Distribution:

Normalized Weekly Abundance


Flight time graph


No. of Adults

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No. of Records

Number of records
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Adults per record
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Percentage of all adults reported (of all species) in each year
Percentage of all records

Percentage of all butterfly records
No. of adults per 10,000 records

Number of adults in every 10,000 butterfly records (of all species)