| Family | Lycaenidae |
|---|---|
| Subfamily | Polyommatinae |
| Genus | Cupido |
| Species | minimus |
| Authority | (Fuessly, 1775) |
| English Name | Small Blue |
| European Red List 2010 | Least Concern (LC) |
|---|---|
| EU 27 Red List 2010 | Least Concern (LC) |
| European Red List 2025 | Near Threatened (NT) |
| EU 27 Red List 2025 | Near Threatened (NT) |
| Habitats Directive | |
| Bern Convention | |
| CITES |
This butterfly is well named. It is very small and its modest colours make it even seem smaller than it really is. The Small Blue can only be found on calcareous soils. Open, mostly rather short vegetation and a warm microclimate typify its habitat. The butterflies may occur in large numbers. They lay their small, white eggs singly between the flowers and the sepals of Kidney-vetch (Anthyllis vulneraria), where a practised eye can detect them. The creamy-white caterpillars feed on the flowers and seeds, and are seldom seen. However, workers of various ant species attend them regularly. When fully-grown, the caterpillars hibernate either between the withered petals of dead flowers, or in the litter layer and pupate on the ground. The Small Blue has one or two broods a year.
Albania / Andorra / Austria / Belarus / Belgium / Belgium: Flanders / Belgium: Wallonia / Bosnia and Herzegovina / Bulgaria / Croatia / Czechia / Denmark / Estonia / Finland / France / France: Mainland / Germany / Greece / Greece: Mainland / Greece: East Aegean Islands / Hungary / Ireland / Italy / Italy: Mainland / Italy: Sicily / Latvia / Liechtenstein / Lithuania / Luxembourg / Monaco / North Macedonia / Moldova / Montenegro / Netherlands / Norway / Poland / Portugal / Portugal: Mainland / Romania / European Russia / Serbia / Serbia: Serbia / Serbia: Kosovo / Slovakia / Slovenia / Spain / Spain: Mainland / Sweden / Switzerland / European Türkiye / Ukraine / United Kingdom / United Kingdom: Great Britain / United Kingdom: Northern Ireland /