Dusky Large Blue; Phengaris nausithous

The Dusky Large Blue butterfly feeds on a Great Burnet flower. The Great Burnet is crucial to the butterfly's life cycle for egg-laying and initial feeding. The caterpillars are later taken by Myrmica ants, mimicking their chemical signals, and continue developing in the ant nests until they emerge as adults.

 

Photographed in the Rhön, Bayern, Germany.

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