Holly Blue
Celastrina argiolus
Insecta
COMMON
Stats
- Lifespan
- A few weeks
- Size
- Small
- Diet
- Herbivore
- Activity
- Diurnal
- Social
- Solitary
- Biome
- Temperate woodland
- Range
- Eurasia and North America
- Movement
- Flight
- Breeding
- Egg-laying
- Defense
- Camouflage
- Status
- Common
About
A small Lycaenid butterfly widespread across Europe and Asia, instantly recognisable by its lavender-blue upperwings and pale silver underwings dotted with tiny black spots. Uniquely, its two annual broods use entirely different host plants — spring caterpillars feed on holly flower buds while summer caterpillars feed on ivy berries and flowers.
Life cycle
- 1.eggA tiny ribbed egg laid on the underside of a host-plant leaf, hatching within days.
- 2.caterpillarA voracious caterpillar feeds and molts through several instars, growing rapidly.
- 3.chrysalisA chrysalis hangs sealed and still while the body remodels into a winged adult.
- 4.butterflyA winged adult with full scales and coloration, ready to fly and mate.
Learn more
Taxonomy
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Arthropoda
- Class
- Insecta
- Order
- Lepidoptera
- Family
- Lycaenidae
- Genus
- Celastrina
- Species
- Celastrina argiolus