Silvery BlueSilvery Blue
Size - 20 to 30 mm.
On the wing - From May until early July.
Range - This little fellow can be found in every Province and Territory.
Host plants - Their larval food plants vary from province to province but consists primarily of Alfalfa and Cow Vetch.
Favourite habitat - Adults can be seen in damp open areas flying close to the ground and landing frequently.
Special notes - Silvery Blues overwinter in their pupa stage. An interesting behaviour of Blues is their symbiotic relationship with ants. The larvae of blues secrete a sweet liquid which certain species of ants consume and in exchange the ants afford protection, for the larva, from some predators. This sounds like a great relationship but observations have shown that the production is stimulated by the ants by pinching the larva with their mandibles. Larvae that have not had this relationship with ants produce larger adult butterflies thus indicating that perhaps this tie with the ants is somewhat stressful. So, as you can see, perhaps all this protection might come at a cost.
