I was in New Brunswick for about a week at the end of July. While stopping in Toronto, I was at a library in downtown Toronto and a friend mentioned that I check for locations of European Common Blue butterflies. Using I-naturalist I realized there were sightings within a few kilometers from the location I was at. I was willing to walk to other locations, but figured I would first try the field adjacent to the library (see map below) . Fort York Library is along the train tracks just a few blocks south of Union station (concrete jungle). Within a moment of inspecting the adjacent field, a bright flashy blue butterfly species was observed, and I was able to get some modest, diagnostic photos with just my cellphone.
Much like an Azure butterfly in flight (or perhaps a blue morpho), there are blue-ish "flashes" as the male flies around. For this butterfly - its strikingly "brighter" flashes of blue than the typical Azure species. These butterflies were strongly associating with bird’s-foot trefoil.
Here is something neat about this butterfly: (It has a symbiotic relationship with ants! Note: The extirpated Karner Blue butterfly also has this trait!)
"Not always, but sometimes, something amazing happens: ants take the European Common Blue caterpillar into their nest. The ants will protect the caterpillar from predators and parasitoids and feed it ant eggs and larvae. In exchange, the caterpillars secrete (from specialized glands) a sweet liquid or honey - dew. This mutualistic relationship is called “myrmecophily,” and it occurs between specific species of ants and other organisms, especially other lycaenid butterflies. Luckily for the European Common Blue, there is a native species of ant, the Turfgrass or Labour Day Ant (Lasius neoniger), that has adapted to tend it. This ant species has also been seen to partake in myrmecophily with a native butterfly species, the Silvery Blue (Glaucopsyche lygdamus)." (ROM)
New Blue on the Block | Royal Ontario Museum (rom.on.ca)
https://www.rom.on.ca/en/collections-research/magazine/new-blue-on-the-block
Good butterfly watching!
Dwayne
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