Butterfly Silver-studded Blue Plebejus argus

The Silver-studded Blue gets its English name from the row of silvery-blue submarginal "studs" on the underside hindwings. These vary in size between individuals and from site to site, and in some specimens can be entirely absent. The butterfly was formerly known as the Lead Argus - a reference to the dull steely blue colour of the male's forewings, which are quite unlike the more vivid hues of Common Blues and Adonis Blues.

The butterfly is widely distributed across Europe but absent from central Spain, southern Portugal, Scotland, Ireland and northern Scandinavia. Beyond Europe it's range extends across temperate Asia to northern China and Japan.