European Common Blue - Polyommatus icarus
![[European Common Blue image]](img/010598.jpg "European Common Blue - Female - Dartmouth, N.S. - 2025-06-21")
Photo © Peter Payzant
Status in Nova Scotia
One colony, in Dartmouth.
Flight Period
The few records for Nova Scotia span the months June-September. Records from Quebec and Ontario are from April to November. There may be two broods.
Habitat
Grassy areas where any of the foodplants are present.
Larval Foodplants
Likely plants in Nova Scotia are Hop-clover (Trifolium aureum), Bird's-foot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatus), clovers and other Leguminosae.
Similar Species in Nova Scotia
None.
Notes
This very wide-spread butterfly is native to much of Europe, northern Africa, and the palearctic to northern China. The first North American report was from Mirabel, Quebec in 2005. The European Common Blue has now spread to many other locations in Quebec and Ontario. It was first reported from Nova Scotia in August of 2024.
Further Reading
One colony, in Dartmouth.
Flight Period
The few records for Nova Scotia span the months June-September. Records from Quebec and Ontario are from April to November. There may be two broods.
Habitat
Grassy areas where any of the foodplants are present.
Larval Foodplants
Likely plants in Nova Scotia are Hop-clover (Trifolium aureum), Bird's-foot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatus), clovers and other Leguminosae.
Similar Species in Nova Scotia
None.
Notes
This very wide-spread butterfly is native to much of Europe, northern Africa, and the palearctic to northern China. The first North American report was from Mirabel, Quebec in 2005. The European Common Blue has now spread to many other locations in Quebec and Ontario. It was first reported from Nova Scotia in August of 2024.
Further Reading
- eButterfly.org: Nova Scotia records, Canada records
- iNaturalist.org: 6 Nova Scotia records, 6093 North America records
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