|
|
Click on any picture to view a larger version
 |
|
|
| Male - distinguished from the female by the sharper angle at the tip of the forewing, giving it a slightly smaller forewing. It is also somewhat smaller overall |
Female - colours can vary from a coppery-red through "tangerine" to pale orange in both sexes. Note the greater tip angle and the gap between the pair of markings near the middle of the forewing edge |
The male's smaller forewing tends to lead to there being no gap between this pair of markings (as in the first picture). This is not always so though, as is shown by this male |
|
|
|
| A green sheen is often discernible at the base of the wings, with yellow sometimes appearing under certain angles of illumination. These colours are caused by refraction effects (like in rainbows), not by pigments |
Other colours are also possible, depending on the angle of the wing to the sun. Here we have several shades of red, with blue-green on the hindwings |
And just to make the point about rainbows, here are two of them - a full colour range on each hindwing! |
|
|
|
| Underwing - the hindwing pattern is superficially similar to the Holly Blue (but on a fawn background, not pale blue), while the forewing, which is usually seen peeping above, reflects the pattern and colouring of the upper side - though, as shown on the right, on a smaller scale |
||
|
|
|
| The pattern of black spots on the forewings is different for each individual. These are rather extreme examples, of small spots and very large ones, which might almost be called aberrant forms. Click here to see some further examples captured over a very short period |
This is definitely an aberration though. Although the white patch on the left forewing looks a bit like a reflection, it is actually an area of missing pigmentation |
|
|
|
|
| Another, quite common, aberrant is the caeruleopunctata form, characterised by a row of blue spots on the hindwings. Click here to see some further examples |
Their spot patterns enabled us to say that this mating pair were definitely two individuals we had seen before |
A view from the top shows the clear difference in size and wing shape between the male (left) and female (right) |
 | Return to index |
