| Family | Lycaenidae |
|---|---|
| Subfamily | Polyommatinae |
| Genus | Lampides |
| Species | boeticus |
| Authority | (Linnaeus, 1767) |
| English Name | Long-tailed Blue |
| European Red List 2010 | Least Concern (LC) |
|---|---|
| EU 27 Red List 2010 | Least Concern (LC) |
| European Red List 2025 | Least Concern (LC) |
| EU 27 Red List 2025 | Least Concern (LC) |
| Habitats Directive | |
| Bern Convention | |
| CITES |
The underside of the wings of the Long-tailed Blue have an attractive pattern of fine, wavy lines and two striking eye-spots near the rather long little tails on the hindwings. The habitats are typified by the presence of many kinds of leguminous plants that serve as foodplants, and plenty of nectar- rich flowers for the butterflies. The habitats are warm, dry places, sometimes in agricultural areas. The main foodplant is Bladder Senna (Colutea arborescens). The caterpillars feed on the ripening seeds and on farms where peas and beans are grown, they can cause outbreaks. In natural situations, the caterpillars are attended by various ant species. The life cycle of the Long-tailed Blue takes four to six weeks. It does not go into hibernation, and can therefore only occur as a resident where it is warm enough for all stages to survive.
Albania / Andorra (Regular Migrant) / Austria (Irregular Vagrant) / Belgium (Irregular Vagrant) / Belgium: Flanders (Irregular Vagrant) / Belgium: Wallonia (Irregular Vagrant) / Bosnia and Herzegovina / Bulgaria (Regular Migrant) / Croatia / Cyprus / Czechia (Irregular Vagrant) / Finland (Irregular Vagrant) / France / France: Mainland / France: Corsica / Germany (Irregular Vagrant) / Greece / Greece: Mainland / Greece: East Aegean Islands / Greece: Kirti (Crete) / Holy See (Vatican City State) / Hungary (Irregular Vagrant) / Italy / Italy: Mainland / Italy: Sardinia / Italy: Sicily / Luxembourg (Irregular Vagrant) / North Macedonia (Regular Migrant) / Malta / Moldova / Montenegro (Regular Migrant) / Netherlands (Irregular Vagrant) / Norway (Irregular Vagrant) / Poland (Irregular Vagrant) / Portugal / Portugal: Mainland / Portugal: Azores / Portugal: Madeira Islands / Romania (Irregular Vagrant) / European Russia / Serbia (Regular Migrant) / Serbia: Serbia (Regular Migrant) / Serbia: Kosovo (Regular Migrant) / Slovakia (Irregular Vagrant) / Slovenia / Spain / Spain: Mainland / Spain: Canary Islands / Spain: Balearic Islands / Spain: Sp. North African Territories / Switzerland (Regular Migrant) / European Türkiye / Ukraine (Irregular Vagrant) / United Kingdom (Irregular Vagrant) / United Kingdom: Great Britain (Irregular Vagrant) / United Kingdom: Guernsey (Irregular Vagrant) / United Kingdom: Jersey (Irregular Vagrant) / United Kingdom: Gibraltar /