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Tomares ballus (Fabricius, 1787)


Tomares ballus: Male (Andalusia, Sierra de Tejada, late March 2015) [N] Tomares ballus: Male (Andalusia, Sierra de Tejada, late March 2015) [N] Tomares ballus: Male (Andalusia, Sierra de Tejada, late March 2015) [N] Tomares ballus: Male (Andalusia, Sierra de Tejada, late March 2015) [N] Tomares ballus: Male (Andalusia, Sierra de Tejada, late March 2015) [N] Tomares ballus: Male (Andalusia, Sierra de Tejada, late March 2015) [N] Tomares ballus: Male (Andalusia, Sierra de Tejada, late March 2015) [N] Tomares ballus: Male (Andalusia, Sierra de Tejada, late March 2015) [N] Tomares ballus: Male (Andalusia, Sierra de Tejada, late March 2015) [N] Tomares ballus: Male (Andalusia, Sierra de Tejada, late March 2015) [N] Tomares ballus: Male (Andalusia, Sierra de Tejada, late March 2015) [N] Tomares ballus: Female (Andalusia, Sierra de Tejada, late March 2015) [N] Tomares ballus: Female (Andalusia, Sierra de Tejada, late March 2015) [N] Tomares ballus: Female (Andalusia, Sierra de Tejada, late March 2015) [N] Tomares ballus: Female ovipositing on Medicago (Andalusia, Sierra de Tejada, late March 2015) [N] Tomares ballus: Female ovipositing on Medicago (Andalusia, Sierra de Tejada, late March 2015) [N] Tomares ballus: Female ovipositing on Medicago (Andalusia, Sierra de Tejada, late March 2015) [N] Tomares ballus: Oviposition (Andalusia, Sierra de Tejada, late March 2015) [N] Tomares ballus: Oviposition on an Astragalus-like Fabaceae (Andalusia, Sierra de Tejada, late March 2015) [N] Tomares ballus: Egg (Andalusia, Sierra de Tejada, late March 2015) [M] Tomares ballus: Egg (Andalusia, Sierra de Tejada, late March 2015) [M] Tomares ballus: Egg (Andalusia, Sierra de Tejada, late March 2015) [M] Tomares ballus: Egg (Andalusia, Sierra de Tejada, late March 2015) [M] Tomares ballus: Egg (Andalusia, Sierra de Tejada, late March 2015) [S] Tomares ballus: L1 larva (e.o. rearing ex Andalusia, oviposition in late March 2015) [S] Tomares ballus: L1 larva (e.o. rearing ex Andalusia, oviposition in late March 2015) [S] Tomares ballus: Young larva (e.o. rearing ex Andalusia, oviposition in late March 2015) [S] Tomares ballus: Young larva (e.o. rearing ex Andalusia, oviposition in late March 2015) [S] Tomares ballus: Half-grown larva (e.o. rearing ex Andalusia, oviposition in late March 2015) [S] Tomares ballus: Half-grown larva (e.o. rearing ex Andalusia, oviposition in late March 2015) [S] Tomares ballus: Half-grown larva (e.o. rearing ex Andalusia, oviposition in late March 2015) [S] Tomares ballus: Half-grown larva (e.o. rearing ex Andalusia, oviposition in late March 2015) [S] Tomares ballus: Half-grown larva, penultimate instar (e.o. rearing ex Andalusia, oviposition in late March 2015) [S] Tomares ballus: Half-grown larva, penultimate instar (e.o. rearing ex Andalusia, oviposition in late March 2015) [S] Tomares ballus: Half-grown larva, penultimate instar (e.o. rearing ex Andalusia, oviposition in late March 2015) [S] Tomares ballus: Half-grown larva, penultimate instar (e.o. rearing ex Andalusia, oviposition in late March 2015) [S] Tomares ballus: Half-grown larva, penultimate instar (e.o. rearing ex Andalusia, oviposition in late March 2015) [S] Tomares ballus: Larva (e.o. rearing ex Andalusia, oviposition in late March 2015) [S] Tomares ballus: Larva (e.o. rearing ex Andalusia, oviposition in late March 2015) [S] Tomares ballus: Larva (e.o. rearing ex Andalusia, oviposition in late March 2015) [S] Tomares ballus: Larva (e.o. rearing ex Andalusia, oviposition in late March 2015) [S] Tomares ballus: Larva (e.o. rearing ex Andalusia, oviposition in late March 2015) [S] Tomares ballus: Larva (e.o. rearing ex Andalusia, oviposition in late March 2015) [S] Tomares ballus: Larva (e.o. rearing ex Andalusia, oviposition in late March 2015) [S] Tomares ballus: Larva (e.o. rearing ex Andalusia, oviposition in late March 2015) [S] Tomares ballus: Larva (e.o. rearing ex Andalusia, oviposition in late March 2015) [S] Tomares ballus: Larva (e.o. rearing ex Andalusia, oviposition in late March 2015) [S] Tomares ballus: Larva (e.o. rearing ex Andalusia, oviposition in late March 2015) [S] Tomares ballus: Larva (e.o. rearing ex Andalusia, oviposition in late March 2015) [S] Tomares ballus: Larva, rear end (e.o. rearing ex Andalusia, oviposition in late March 2015) [S] Tomares ballus: Larva, front end (e.o. rearing ex Andalusia, oviposition in late March 2015) [S] Tomares ballus: Pupa (e.o. rearing ex Andalusia, oviposition in late March 2015) [S] Tomares ballus: Pupa (e.o. rearing ex Andalusia, oviposition in late March 2015) [S] Tomares ballus: Pupa (e.o. rearing ex Andalusia, oviposition in late March 2015) [S] Tomares ballus: Larval habitat (Andalusia, Sierra de Tejada, late March 2015) [N] Tomares ballus: Larval habitat (Andalusia, Sierra de Tejada, late March 2015) [N] Tomares ballus: Habitat (Andalusia, Sierra de Tejada, late March 2015) [S] Tomares ballus: Habitat (Andalusia, Sierra de Tejada, late March 2015) [N] Tomares ballus: Habitat (Andalusia, Sierra de Tejada, late March 2015) [N] Tomares ballus: Habitat (Andalusia, Sierra de Tejada, late March 2015) [N] Tomares ballus: Habitat (Andalusia, Sierra de Tejada, late March 2015) [N]

Host plants:
The larvae feed on Fabaceae species near the ground, especially often Medicago sp.

Habitat:
Tomares ballus inhabits low-growing or at least gappy vegetated areas where there is a winter-green vegetation consisting of species (e.g. Medicago) that germinate after rainfalls in autumn and grow in winter and spring.
Larval habitats can be rocky slopes, pastures, but also extensively managed fields and especially its fallow stages.

Life cycle:
The butterflies occur in early spring between late February and early May. I found them in Andalusia (Sierra de Tejada) and near Madrid between 400 and 1400m asl in late March 2015. The eggs are deposited near the ground on both the upper (most often) and lower (more rarely) surface of the leaflets, sometimes also at stems. The female orientates itself optically at first and also lands on other, similar looking plants. The larvae develop between late March and May. They pupate near the ground and the pupa hibernates.

Endangerment factors:
Tomares ballus is regionally heavily endangered (e.g. in S-France) because of agricultural intensification and abandonment of sheep grazing. In some parts of the Iberian Peninsula and N-Africa Tomares ballus can still be more common.

Remarks:
Tomares ballus occurs in parts of N-Africa and SW-Europe (Iberian Peninsula, extremely local in S-France).


German version / deutsche Version

Genera
(Lycaenidae)

 
 
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