{"id":9603,"date":"2026-08-09T15:30:20","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T15:30:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pawel.stefanoff.pl\/bugs\/?p=9603"},"modified":"2026-08-16T16:26:04","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T16:26:04","slug":"2026-08-common-blue-butterflies-near-akalla-en","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pawel.stefanoff.pl\/bugs\/posts\/2026-08-common-blue-butterflies-near-akalla-en\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue waves over the meadows: Photographing common blues near Akalla"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The common blue butterfly (<em>Polyommatus icarus<\/em>) is a small, widespread insect with a 28\u201336 mm wingspan that thrives across Europe, Asia, and North Africa. Males feature brilliant, iridescent lilac-blue uppersides bordered by a delicate black rim. Females are typically brown, though depending on the region, they can display a heavy dusting of blue or even appear mostly blue. Their life cycle involves a fascinating partnership: the slug-like, pale green caterpillars engage in a mutualistic relationship with ants, which tend and protect them in exchange for sweet secretions. Feeding primarily on legumes like bird&#8217;s-foot trefoil and white clover, the larvae also serve as the overwintering stage in colder regions. During a sunny afternoon walk on the outskirts of Akalla, Sweden, I encountered hundreds of these vibrant butterflies fluttering through the grass. It took a great deal of patience, however, before a few camera-friendly males finally let me get close enough to take photos.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The common blue butterfly (Polyommatus icarus) is a small, widespread insect with a 28\u201336 mm wingspan that thrives across Europe, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9604,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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