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Natural History Photographs
by Cor Zonneveld
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Family Lycaenidae - subfamily Lycaeninae - tribe Polyommatini
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genus Phengaris
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Phengaris alcon
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Hoge Veluwe, the Netherlands; August 1990.
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This is a female on the larval food plant, Gentiana pneumonanthe,
probably into the business of egg laying; you can see a few eggs on the
plant. The caterplillars have the same close relationship with ants as
Phengaris nausithous.
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Phengaris arion
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subsp. obscura
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Near Innertkirchen (altitude ca 1400 m),
Switzerland; 9 July 2008.
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Female. The general life cycle of this species is similar to that of
Phengaris nausithous. This species is less specialised than alcon and nausithous, in that
the caterpillars just feed on ant brood, rather than being tended by ants.
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Phengaris nausithous
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Reutte, Austria; July 1989.
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Though not spectacularly coloured, the life cycle of this species really is spectacular. Eggs are
deposited by the females (this picture) in the flower head of Sanguisorba officinalis. Shortly after
hatching, the caterpillars drop to the ground where they are taken up by ants. The ants take them into
their nest, where the caterpillars are fed as if they were ant brood!
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