Family | Lycaenidae |
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Subfamily | Polyommatinae |
Genus | Eumedonia |
Species | eumedon |
Authority | (Esper, 1780) |
English Name | Geranium Argus |
European Red List 2010 | Least Concern (LC) |
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EU 27 Red List 2010 | Least Concern (LC) |
European Red List 2025 | Least Concern (LC) |
EU 27 Red List 2025 | Vulnerable (VU) |
Habitats Directive | |
Bern Convention | |
CITES |
The Geranium Argus occurs locally, in meadows, stream valleys, and at woodland edges. The female lays her eggs in the flowers of crane’s-bills (Geranium spp.), at the base of the ovary into which the small caterpillar bores its way on hatching out. It stays there for a little more than a week. It then starts feeding on leaves, first gnawing on the stems, which causes them to wilt. When half- grown, the caterpillars hibernate in the litter layer, but pupate on the foodplant. They are sometimes attended by ants of the genera Myrmica, Lasius and Tapinoma. The Geranium Argus has only one generation a year.
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