#2394 · 🦋 butterflies & moths

Common Blue

🇳🇱 Icarusblauwtje ·Polyommatus icarus

🦋 Butterflies & moths 📍 in the Netherlands

8 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences

1. © Bryan Pfeiffer · CC BY-NC 4.0
2. © Gitte Langgaard Jensen · CC BY-NC 4.0
3. © L Bet Crooks T · CC BY-NC 4.0
4. © Erland Refling Nielsen · CC BY-NC 4.0
5. © Dean Morley · CC BY-ND 4.0
6. © ðejay (Orkney) · CC BY-NC 4.0
7. © Andrey Ponomarev · CC BY-NC 4.0
8. © ðejay (Orkney) · CC BY-NC 4.0

what is it?

The common blue butterfly ( Polyommatus icarus ) is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae and subfamily Polyommatinae. The butterfly can be found in Europe, North Africa, and the Canary Islands, but it is especially common throughout the British Isles. Recently, however, there has been an estimated 96% population loss for the common blue due to habitat loss. The butterfly's name comes from the coloring of the wings. The males usually have blue wings with a black-brown border...

base stats

NL sightings 1,780iNaturalist, research grade
worldwide 146,001iNaturalist observations

Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).

fun facts

Spotted 1,780 times in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: the #10 most seen of the butterflies & moths in NL.
146,001 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
Scientifically named by S. A. von Rottemburg in 1775 (251 years ago).