Alcon Blue (Phengaris alcon)

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2023 photographs highlighted in green. Click on any photograph to go to an enlarged picture, or simply scroll down the page.

47651_female_Ain_23Jul20 13479_female_Vienne_15Aug08 47620_male_Ain_28Jul20 47636_male_Ain_28Jul20
46903_male_Ain_25Jul19 46897_female_Ain_25Jul19 46924_female_Ain_25Jul19 13564_female_Vienne_15Aug08
13505_female_Vienne_15Aug08 47595_female_Ain_23Jul20 47603_female_Ain_23Jul20 47615_female_Ain_23Jul20
47643_female_Ain_23Jul20 47661_female_Ain_23Jul20 46931_ova_Ain_25Jul19 13492_ova_Vienne_15Aug08

Alcon is very closely related to the Mountain Alcon Blue (P. alcon (rebeli)). Until recently rebeli was classified as a separate species, although in the past older reference books recorded rebeli as a subspecies of alcon. Rebeli is now considered to the higher altitude subspecies of alcon and no longer a separate species. Hence the existence of separate pages.

 

They are very similar in size and colouring and the undersides are almost indistinguishable, although the altitude is the best differentiator - if it's at high altitude, it's almost certainly rebeli.

 

Both rebeli and alcon are reportedly quite rare and their habitat is threatened, especially alcon. I have, however, seen rebeli in a number of places, only ever in small numbers, so maybe I've just been lucky.

 

It appears to me that the underside colouring seems rather variable, compare 47595 and 47643, for instance. Most females seem to have a rather cinnamon colouring but some are more bluish grey-brown. Of the few males I have seen, the ground colour seems to be a more silvery grey-blue.

Up to 2019 I had only seen alcon in one place which I was taken to in 2008, and would never have chanced upon the location (thanks are due to Neil Wilding). The females were constantly egg-laying on Marsh Gentian (Gentiana pneumonanthe), so were easy to photograph, whereas the males were whizzing around, never settling, chasing after females that generally weren't interested.

 

In 2019 we did chance upon a small colony in eastern France and it took a few moments to realise that it was alcon that we were looking at, mainly because it was not clear what plant the female was egg-laying on (see note below on 46931).

 

I returned to the same site in 2020 (not in breach of Covid-19 restrictions) and was delighted to find alcon flying there. It did seem that there was only one, maybe two, females and similarly for males. However, on detailed study of the markings I found that there were at least three different females, but only one male. They tend to have bursts of egg-laying on what were clearly more developed G. pneumonanthe (see 47603 for instance) than on the same date in 2019, followed by rest periods, which would explain why only one female was seen at any one time.

 

This species was previously known as Maculinea alcon.

ref sex

observations

alt. m
47651 F a rare opportunity to see the upperside, as this female rests in between bouts of egg-laying. It opened up briefly to absorb the warmth of the sun and revealed this beautiful blue smattering of scales in the upf basal region. I believe that 47643 is the underside. 700
13479 F

a female, with almost no blue scales, and with a clearly visible upf discoidal spot and a faint post-discal mark in s2.

100
47620 M a male, as clearly indicated by the extent of the blue scales just visible on the upf. It has a steely blue colouring. 47636 is the same butterfly. 700
47636 M a male, the same butterfly as 47620, showing a very slightly different colouring, indicating that the angle of viewing has an effect. 700
46903 M a male, late in the flight period and showing some slight signs of wear. 700
46897 F a very fresh and appealing female, heavily gravid, and taking a rest in the shade after a hectic spell of ovipositing, some of the results of which can be seen in the image for 46931. 700
46924 F the same female as 46987 in the act of ovipositing. 700
13564 F

a female underside, probably the underside of 13479.

100
13505 F

a female egg-laying on G. pneumonanthe.

100
47595 F a female, with quite a dark cinnamon colouring. 47603 is the same butterfly. 700
47603 F a female, the same butterfly as 47595, egg-laying on G. pneumonanthe. 700
47615 F another female, very similar in appearance to 47595 but it is in fact not the same butterfly. 700
47643 F a female with an unusually pale greyish-blue colouring. It may only be partially due to the viewing angle. I believe 47561 is the upperside. 700
47661 F another female, rather more-greyish-blue than the norm (assuming 47595 is the norm), but not as pale as 47643. 700
46931 OVA a batch of eggs in the area where the flowerheads of the Marsh Gentian would develop. Curiously, the Marsh Gentian were not even close to being in flower at this location. From what I understand of the period in which the Gentian is in flower, it is usually late summer but it still seems unusual that there not even any flower buds on 25 July. 700
13492 ovum

two ova on G. pneumonanthe.

100

 

47651_female_Ain_23Jul20

 

13479_female_Vienne_15Aug08

 

47620_male_Ain_28Jul20

 

47636_male_Ain_28Jul20

 

46903_male_Ain_25Jul19

 

46897_female_Ain_25Jul19

 

46924_female_Ain_25Jul19

 

13564_female_Vienne_15Aug08

 

13505_female_Vienne_15Aug08

 

47595_female_Ain_23Jul20

 

47603_female_Ain_23Jul20

 

47615_female_Ain_23Jul20

 

47643_female_Ain_23Jul20

 

47661_female_Ain_23Jul20

 

46931_ova_Ain_25Jul19

 

13492_ova_Vienne_15Aug08