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Post by nomihoudai on Sept 25, 2013 8:36:23 GMT -8
Usually I wouldn't bother to post something as Polyommatus icarus here, but this specimen looks very special. It has been caught in Italy and I saw it in a museum collection today. Enjoy.   EDIT: A regular Polyommatus icarus from Italy for those that want to compare  . |
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Post by nomad on Sept 25, 2013 8:47:02 GMT -8
Superb aberration. P. icarus may be common but none the less a beautiful Lycaenidae with a very interesting range of females for the collector and blue enthusiast.
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Post by maurizio on Sept 25, 2013 21:59:46 GMT -8
Are you sure it is Polyommatus icarus? The specimen lacks the diagnostical spot in cell of FWs.
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Post by bobw on Sept 26, 2013 0:45:52 GMT -8
It looks similar to Aricia agestis ab. deleta.
Bob
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Post by nomihoudai on Sept 26, 2013 1:49:11 GMT -8
maurizio, what would be your species suggestion ? The collection it originated from had 1 more female from the same locality and date which has all the necessary dots to be identified as Polyommatus icarus and not as Polyommatus thersites. I doubt that the two fly sympatrically although I am no expert (yet) on the details of their biology. The specimen lacks a lot of things, the second row of black dots in forewing, the orange dots on forewing, all the black dots except the discal spots in each wing. Furthermore it lacks the light brown coloration of the wing in general.
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Post by nomad on Jan 29, 2014 10:10:01 GMT -8
 My most favourite P. icarus ab. J.C. Dale 1826. More info see Dalean thread. 
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Post by nomad on Feb 13, 2014 9:45:25 GMT -8
Radiata verso aberrations are some of the most striking to be found in the blues. Here are three amazing radiata abs of P. icarus in a British private collection.   Male recto of the above.  |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 13, 2014 10:17:09 GMT -8
that bottom one is INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.
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Post by wollastoni on Feb 13, 2014 10:20:32 GMT -8
"radiata" is indeed a rare treasure that can fly even in your garden near London or Paris... if you are lucky !  |
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Post by nomad on Feb 13, 2014 10:32:43 GMT -8
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Post by Deleted on Feb 14, 2014 2:54:48 GMT -8
Last year was a fantastic season for me with quite a few abs taken, I am hoping next year is good for Pyronia tithonus ab multioccelata, I didn't look for them last year but I will this, weather allowing of course.
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Post by bobw on Feb 14, 2014 7:59:48 GMT -8
Some of the English collectors on here may recall that back in the 80s and maybe early 90s there was a collector called Les Young (long since deceased) who selectively reared P. icarus for many years and produced extreme "radiata" specimens at will. He started off by rearing from a wild-caught female with slightly enlarged spots and reared three generations of several hundred specimens per year. From each brood he selected the most extreme forms for breeding and after only about six generations produced "radiata" specimens that would put the ones shown here to shame; the stock also threw out other types of extreme aberration. He had to do an outcross fairly regularly to strengthen the stock but it only took a generation or two to get the aberrations back.
I used to have quite a few of his specimens but disposed of them some time ago, however he gave quite a few away to acquaintances so I'm sure there must be people out there who still have some of his specimens - he reared thousands of them. His set up to do such intensive breeding of a single species was very impressive.
Bob
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Post by nomad on Feb 14, 2014 8:42:52 GMT -8
produced "radiata" specimens that would put the ones shown here to shame; Those radiata shown here, were caught wild and were not produced by selective breeding. The Double P. icarus ab, Ultra radiata with a pale lilac recto, ab livida Gillmer May be a unique specimen. I have been looking at the blues in the field all my life and have never found a ab radiata, so I believe that they must be rare in the wild . A interesting breeding story and one that is new to me. |
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Post by Deleted on Feb 14, 2014 10:39:30 GMT -8
 I managed to pick up these VERY old blue females from an old collection last year. |
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Post by nomad on Feb 15, 2014 2:07:04 GMT -8
There is a very fine pale lilac male recto aberration of P. icarus [ see above ] that J.J. Walker called a lovely lavender variety. There is a specimen in the Dale collection that was captured by a G. king in 1859 and labelled Labiennus - Jermyn. Two other better examples are in a large private collection and one of these was captured in my favourite forest of Savernake in Wiltshire. The specimens shown below all have the usual verso. Later specimens of this aberration seem to have been named livida - Gillmer.  Dale collection.   Typical male Wiltshire 2013. Common butterflies often can be among the most beautiful. |
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My most favourite P. icarus ab. J.C. Dale 1826. More info see Dalean thread.
