Insects: The Silver-studded Blue - Plebejus argus

The World of Minibeasts

The Silver-studded Blue - Drinking

With some 4.000-5.000 species throughout the world, the blues' family is a very large family within the order of butterflies. More than 40 species exist in central Europe, sometimes quite difficult to distinguish, since many of them resemble each other closely. There are three subgroups in the family: hairstreaks, coppers and actual blues.

Silver-studded blues drinking ground water on the bank of a stream

The species in the picture is the Silver-studded Blue (Plebejus argus) and belongs to the latter group.

Butterflies like drinking water from the ground. In contrast to dew on plants, water from the ground dissolves minerals from its surroundings. Butterflies need minerals for nourishment. For drinking, butterflies favor loose ground that has large pores, such as sand or coarse clay, which allow them to stick their trunk into the pores. Often, where sand or clay has been freshly washed up to the bank by a stream, butterflies gather to take up ground water.

Drinking	Male, Top	Female, Top
Male, Underside	Female, Underside	An Unwelcome Visitor
Another Attempt	Alone, Finally