Lang's Short-tailed Blue Leptotes pirithous (Linnaeus, 1767)

Description

A small, fast flying butterfly with violet-blue uppersides. Females’ upperside are mainly brown with violet on the discal parts while males are uniformly violet-blue on the uppersides. Both sexes undersides are mainly brown streaked with white, undulated, thin lines and with 2 black spots on the hind-wings, near the anal angle.

Leptotes pirithous Caterpillars

Its larva has a diverseness of colours, from white to dark green (Tolman & Lewington, 2009).

Host & Food Plants

Its host plants in Madeira include Phaseolus sp., Teline maderensis and Plumbago capensis (Aguiar & Karsholt, 2006).

Habitat & behaviour

It is seen in different habitats, from scrubland to cultivated fields and gardens.

Distribution in Atlantic Islands of Macaronesia:

Occurs in Madeira, Porto Santo, Canary & Cape Verde Islands (Aguiar & Karsholt, 2006)

Status:

Regional status according to Aguiar & Karsholt, 2008: Native to Madeira & Porto Santo
Regional status according to Wakeham-Dawson et al., 2001:
Status according to the European Red List of Butterflies, 2010: Least Concern