Butterfly ID
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Field guide · Norway
Blues, coppers and hairstreaks · Norway

Holly blue

Celastrina argiolus

Holly blue is the blue-winged species that emerges on the wings earliest in the spring, and lives in open forest in Southern Norway. The underside of the wing is light bluish-grey with small dark spots without white rings.

Status in this countryCommon in NorwayLC (Least concern)
Holly blue

Flight period

Holly blue flies from early May (sometimes from the end of April) to June.

Habitat

Living in an open forest; a more detailed description of the habitat is not provided in the examined sources.

Identifying features

Wingspan 23–32 mm. The male has a clear blue dorsal wing surface, while the female is a duller blue. The ventral wing surface is light blue-grey; the small dark spots lack white rings. The ventral surface of the hindwing is without yellow-orange markings. Near the base of the wings, there is a faintly bluish area.

Similar species

No confused species are described in the examined sources.

Distribution

In the southern Norway along the coast of Rogaland; a few finds in Midt-Norway. Also found in Denmark and the southeast Sweden and Finland.

Biology

The egg is round and flat, light greenish-white with a fine dotted pattern. The larva is yellowish-red or brownish, with a distinct greenish or brownish longitudinal stripe on each side; older larvae have tentacles and a honeydew gland on the seventh segment of the body.