20 May 2016

Lang's Short-tailed Blue near Riyadh – Record by Mansur Al Fahad

Mansur Al Fahad took a few macro photographs of a Lang's Short-tailed Blue Leptotes pirithous or Common Zebra Blue Butterfly at Heet village south of Riyadh. It was on Zygophyllum (propinquum) migahidii that Mansur tells me is known locally as Harm. Lang's Short-tailed Blue is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is a small butterfly with a wingspan of 21–29 mm in males and 24–30 mm in females. The uppersides of the wings are purple bluish in males, bluish-brown in female. The undersides are dark beige striped with white lines. The hindwings show marginal orange and black spots and two small tails. These butterflies fly from February to November depending on the location. They are regular migrants. I thank Mansur for sending me the details, identification and permission to use them on my website.
Lang's Short-tailed Blue

Lang's Short-tailed Blue