Polyommatus damon (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775)


Polyommatus damon: Male (SE-France, Col d'Allos, 2300m, early August 2021) [N] Polyommatus damon: Male (SE-France, Col d'Allos, 2300m, early August 2021) [N] Polyommatus damon: Male (e.l. Valais, Switzerland) [S] Polyommatus damon: Male [S] Polyommatus damon: Male [N] Polyommatus damon: Male lower side [N] Polyommatus damon: Female (SE-France, Col d'Allos, 2300m, early August 2021) [N] Polyommatus damon: Female (SE-France, Col d'Allos, 2300m, early August 2021) [N] Polyommatus damon: Female (SE-France, Col d'Allos, 2300m, early August 2021) [N] Polyommatus damon: Female lower side [N] Polyommatus damon: Ovum [N] Polyommatus damon: Ovum [N] Polyommatus damon: Egg (SE-France, Col de Champs, 1800m, early August 2021) [S] Polyommatus damon: Egg (SE-France, Col de Champs, 1800m, early August 2021) [S] Polyommatus damon: Egg (SE-France, Col de Champs, 1800m, early August 2021) [S] Polyommatus damon: Egg (SE-France, Col de Champs, 1800m, early August 2021) [S] Polyommatus damon: Eggs (SE-France, Col de Champs, 1800m, early August 2021) [S] Polyommatus damon: L1-larva (SE-France, Col de Champs, 1800m, oviposition in early August 2021) [S] Polyommatus damon: L1-larva (SE-France, Col de Champs, 1800m, oviposition in early August 2021) [S] Polyommatus damon: L1-larva (SE-France, Col de Champs, 1800m, oviposition in early August 2021) [S] Polyommatus damon: L1-larva (SE-France, Col de Champs, 1800m, oviposition in early August 2021) [S] Polyommatus damon: L1-larva (SE-France, Col de Champs, 1800m, oviposition in early August 2021) [S] Polyommatus damon: L2-larva (SE-France, Col de Champs, 1800m, oviposition in early August 2021) [S] Polyommatus damon: L2-larva prior to hibernation in September (SE-France, Col de Champs, 1800m, oviposition in early August 2021) [S] Polyommatus damon: Larva in penultimate instar [S] Polyommatus damon: Larva [M] Polyommatus damon: Larva [N] Polyommatus damon: Larva [S] Polyommatus damon: Larva (Valais, Switzerland) [N] Polyommatus damon: Larva (Haute-Provence, France) [N] Polyommatus damon: Larva with much pinkish red (Valais, early June 2010) [M] Polyommatus damon: Larva (Valais, early June 2010) [M] Polyommatus damon: Larva (France, Hautes-Alpes, Briancon, Col de Montgenèvre, June 2017) [N] Polyommatus damon: Larva (France, Hautes-Alpes, Briancon, Col de Montgenèvre, June 2017) [N] Polyommatus damon: Larva (France, Hautes-Alpes, Briancon, Col de Montgenèvre, June 2017) [N] Polyommatus damon: Larva (Col d Izoard, early July 2012) [N] Polyommatus damon: Larva (Col d Izoard, early July 2012) [N] Polyommatus damon: Pupa [S] Polyommatus damon: Pupa (Valais, Switzerland) [S] Polyommatus damon: Larval habitat at the time of the young to half-grown larvae (01/05/2007, Valais, Switzerland) [N] Polyommatus damon: Larval habitat: Onobrychis with feeding scars (France, Hautes-Alpes, Briancon, Col de Montgenèvre, June 2017) [N] Polyommatus damon: Larval habitat (France, Hautes-Alpes, Briancon, Col de Montgenèvre, June 2017) [N] Polyommatus damon: Habitat in the Southwestern Alps (Col d Izoard, 2200m asl, early July 2012) [N] Polyommatus damon: Habitat in the Southwestern Alps (Col d Izoard, 2200m asl, early July 2012) [N] Polyommatus damon: Habitat on the Col d'Allos (SE-France, early August 2021) [N]

Host plants:
The larvae feed on Onobrychis species.

Habitat:
Polyommatus damon colonizes nutrient-poor grasslands up to well over 2000m asl in the Alps and other mountains. The butterfly is missing in large areas of the northern Alps. In the Southwestern Alps, it is however widespread in almost any major mountain range. In Germany Polyommatus damon has almost disappeared and there are only a few places left, e.g. in the Jura Mountains.

Life cycle:
The L1- or the L2-larva hibernates in most cases, rarely also the caterpillar in the egg shell (the latter according to literature). The L1 feeds before hibernation for a short time and then starts dormancy close to the ground in the litter. In a rearing (Col de Champs, France) the L2-larva hibernated. In spring, I found larvae, for example, in the end of May in the Maritime Alps (Cuneo) and the Valais (April to June) quite often close to the ground during daytime, occasionally also feeding then, most often accompanied by ants. Especially in the evening, but also during daytime, half-grown to mature larvae are regularly found feeding in the inflorescences.
The eggs are partly deposited at dry fruit stands, but also partly on green leaves of the host plant and at surrounding plants (Potentilla). The latter observations have been made in the Valais.

Endangerment: threatened with extinction

Endangerment factors:
Polyommatus damon is threatened with extinction north of the Alps due to habitat loss because of the elimination of the host plant under mechanical (no overgrazing or intense mowing) and microclimatical (hot, low vegetation cover) acceptable conditions. In the southwestern Alps, however, Polyommatus damon is still a common butterfly in the higher elevations.

Remarks:
Polyommatus damon occurs locally from Spain across central and south-eastern Europe (Balkans) and Turkey to the Altai Mountains in Asia.



Polyommatus admetus | Polyommatus agestis | Polyommatus amandus | Polyommatus anteros | Polyommatus aquilo | Polyommatus argus | Polyommatus argyrognomon | Polyommatus aroaniensis | Polyommatus artaxerxes | Polyommatus bellargus | Polyommatus celina | Polyommatus coridon | Polyommatus cramera | Polyommatus daphnis | Polyommatus dolus | Polyommatus dorylas | Polyommatus eros | Polyommatus escheri | Polyommatus eumedon | Polyommatus eurypilus | Polyommatus fabressei | Polyommatus glandon | Polyommatus hispanus | Polyommatus icarus | Polyommatus idas | Polyommatus loewii | Polyommatus morronensis | Polyommatus nicias | Polyommatus nivescens | Polyommatus orbitulus | Polyommatus pylaon | Polyommatus pyrenaicus | Polyommatus ripartii | Polyommatus semiargus | Polyommatus thersites