please clarify id

[the naturelover]

please can anyone help a confused novice. everyone seems to be calling this a common blue but, the ones i have been chasing for days are twice the size of what i know as common blues also, there is no brown colour or spots. it is this lovelly blue all over both top and underside of wings. found in the same area as common blues. very skittish and fast doesn,t like to settle for long hence poor photo. can anyone please clarify many thanks.

[faz]

hi im not to clever my self but i would say its a common blue

[Miss Caretaker]

The only blue I can think of with no spots on the undersides is a holly blue (they have got small black spots) so I suppose it could be a faded male holly blue but don't take my word for it
Jo

[Jason Claxton]

Originally Posted by Miss Caretaker

The only blue I can think of with no spots on the undersides is a holly blue (they have got small black spots) so I suppose it could be a faded male holly blue but don't take my word for it
Jo

Hi Jo
Small Blues also have a similar underside to the Holly Blue,but they are much darker than the butterfly above.

Cheers,Jason

[Miss Caretaker]

That's true Jason. I had discounted the small blue as it is far smaller than a common blue and is far scarcer so perhaps I should have mentioned that! As usual I am more than happy to be wrong
Jo

[GuyF]

Hi naturelover,
The individual in your photo is a male Common Blue, which has a plain white fringe to the wing unlike the Holly Blue which has some black chequering. As the others have said, the larger, paler butterflies that you have been seeing may well be Holly Blues. If you see a blue butterfly flying high along a hedge or among trees it is more likely to be a Holly Blue so may be worth a closer look, although this isn't a reliable way of separating the two!
Common Blues can show significant variations in size, but the undersides are very different to Holly Blues.
Guy

[the naturelover]

my thanks to you all for helping. the more i look at nature the less i seem to know. enjoy the day the naturelover.

[Miss Caretaker]

Originally Posted by the naturelover

the more i look at nature the less i seem to know.

I know that feeling all too well!
Jo