Genus CUPIDO, Schrank , 1801 
THE SMALL BLUE 
Cnpido minimus (Fuessl., 1775). 
(Plate XIX, facing page 208) 
Haunts and Distribution. This is the smallest of the British 
butterflies and is extremely local in its distribution. It 
usually frequents a very limited area, where it occurs .year 
after year. 
The favourite haunts of this little butterfly are rough grassy 
slopes abounding with the Kidney Vetch (Anthyllis vulncraria), 
the food plant of the larvae, and other wild flowers chiefly 
confined to chalk and limestone districts of the southern 
counties. In these resorts the butterflies frequently occur 
assembled in large numbers and flit about or settle in the 
sunshine with outspread wings upon the herbage and broad¬ 
leaved grasses. During fine weather they rest at night on 
the stems and blades of grasses, but in dull, unsettled weather 
they resort to the under side of leaves, where they remain 
sheltered for the night. At times the flight of this little 
butterfly is rapid when flying from one spot to another, but 
usually it flits about just above the ground. 
The Small Blue is locally distributed over the greater part 
of the British Isles. The only four counties from which it 
appears absent are : Leicestershire, Middlesex, Northampton¬ 
shire and Rutland. In Scotland it occurs as far north as Ben 
Lawers ; and in Ireland, although somewhat rare inland, it 
is common and widely distributed on the coast. Abroad it 
ranges over Europe, except the Polar Regions ; and it occurs 
in Amurland, Mongolia and China. 
Time of Appearance. Normally this butterfly is single 
brooded, and appears on the wing at the end of May and 
June, but in fine, warm summers a partial second brood occuis 
in August and early September. 
Hibernation. This species passes ten months of the year 
in hibernation in the larval state. The larva becomes fully 
grown about July 20th, when it prepares for hibernation by 
spinning a few strands of silk among the flowers of Anthyllis 
vulncraria, usually binding a few of the calyces together and 
205 
