Large blue: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the large blue lives – recorded in 10 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Phengaris arion
Group	Butterflies & moths
Status	Near threatened (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	10 countries
Continents	Europe
Class	Insect
Order	Lepidoptera
Family	Lycaenidae

Where does the large blue live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the large blue in 10 countries and territories across Europe.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the large blue endangered?

The large blue’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Near threatened” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the large blue?

The large blue (Phengaris arion) is an insect in the order Lepidoptera and the family Lycaenidae, genus Phengaris. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the large blue

The Large blue (Phengaris arion) is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. The species was first defined in 1758 and first recorded in Britain in 1795. In 1979 the species became mostly extinct in Britain but has been successfully reintroduced with new conservation methods. The species is classified as "near threatened" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Today P. arion can be found in Europe, the Caucasus, Armenia, western Siberia, Altai, north-western Kazakhstan and Sichuan.

The large blue can be distinguished by its unique speckled black dots on its wings with a blue background.

The large blue butterfly is well known in behavioural ecology as it is a brood parasite of a single species of red ant, Myrmica sabuleti. The discovery was made by Captain Edward Bagwell Purefoy along with F. W. Frohawk and others.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Large blue (revision 1374914304), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q161528 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).