David Element
Wildlife
Photography and Digital Video Images
___________________________________________________________ Butterflies 17 – Provençal Short-tailed Blues
PROVENÇAL SHORT-TAILED BLUE Cupido alcetas (m)
PROVENÇAL SHORT-TAILED BLUE Cupido alcetas (m)
PROVENÇAL SHORT-TAILED BLUE Cupido alcetas (m)
PROVENÇAL SHORT-TAILED BLUE Cupido alcetas (m)
PROVENÇAL SHORT-TAILED BLUE Cupido alcetas (m) PROVENÇAL SHORT-TAILED BLUE Cupido alcetas (m)
PROVENÇAL SHORT-TAILED BLUE Cupido alcetas (m) PROVENÇAL SHORT-TAILED BLUE Cupido alcetas (m)
PROVENÇAL SHORT-TAILED BLUE Cupido alcetas (f)
·
The
eponymous short ‘tails’ of the Provençal Short-tailed Blue Butterfly Cupido
(formerly Egestes) alcetas
are so unobtrusive that it is difficult to believe that avian predators could
fall for the ruse that they are antennae, and the black marginal spots are
eyes. Some blue butterflies and hairstreaks use these non-vital wing-margins as
decoys, inviting birds to peck at the hindwings rather than the vital organs in
the insect’s head. There are several similar small blue butterflies in Europe,
and the above photographs were taken in the South of France, Italy, and
Switzerland.
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