Polyommatus glandon (Prunner, 1798)

Synonyms/other combinations:
Agriades glandon
Plebejus glandon

Polyommatus glandon: Male (Switzerland, Valais, Täschalpe, 2300m, early July 2019) [N] Polyommatus glandon: Male (Switzerland, Valais, Täschalpe, 2300m, early July 2019) [N] Polyommatus glandon: Male (Switzerland, Valais, Täschalpe, 2300m, early July 2019) [N] Polyommatus glandon: Female (Switzerland, Valais, Täschalpe, 2300m, early July 2019) [N] Polyommatus glandon: Female (Switzerland, Valais, Täschalpe, 2300m, early July 2019) [N] Polyommatus glandon: Female (Switzerland, Valais, Täschalpe, 2300m, early July 2019) [N] Polyommatus glandon: Male [N] Polyommatus glandon: Lower side [N] Polyommatus glandon: Female [N] Polyommatus glandon: Female [S] Polyommatus glandon: Female [N] Polyommatus glandon: Lower side [N] Polyommatus glandon: Ovum at Androsace chamaejasme [N] Polyommatus glandon: Ovum (Lüner See) [N] Polyommatus glandon: Ovum, detail [M] Polyommatus glandon: Ovum at Soldanella [N] Polyommatus glandon: Larva [N] Polyommatus glandon: Larva [N] Polyommatus glandon: Pupa [S] Polyommatus glandon: Habitat [N] Polyommatus glandon: Oviposition place at the Umbrailpass(Switzerland/Italy): Soldanella alpina [N]

Host plants:
The larvae feed on Primulaceae, particularly Androsace chamaejasme (on limestone) and Androsace obtusifolia (on siliceous substrate), but apparently also on some other alpine Primulaceae. On Simplon (Switzerland, Valais), oviposition takes also place on Androsace vita liana. Below the Umbrail Pass (Switzerland/Italy), I observed oviposition to and around plants of Soldanella alpina on 7th July, 2007. Androsace lacked at the oviposition site.

Habitat:
Polyommatus glandon inhabits meadows and pastures in higher mountains such as the Alps from about 1600m above sea level. It occurs quite rarely in Germany in the Bavarian Alps, but hardly on the lower edge mountains.

Life cycle:
Polyommatus glandon flies in a single generation from June to August. Oviposition takes place on the leaves of the host plant or in the vicinity (mosses, lichens). The young caterpillar overwinters and is mature in June. I observed such caterpillars thanks to the whitish feeding scars on sparsely vegetated sites on Androsace chamaejasme.

Endangerment factors:
Polyommatus glandon is only little threatened.

Remarks:
Polyommatus glandon is obviously restricted to the Alps, Pyrenees and Cantabrian mountains. Related species occur in Northern Scandinavia (P. aquilo) and the Spanish Sierra Nevada (P. zullichi).



Polyommatus admetus | Polyommatus agestis | Polyommatus amandus | Polyommatus anteros | Polyommatus aquilo | Polyommatus argus | Polyommatus argyrognomon | Polyommatus aroaniensis | Polyommatus artaxerxes | Polyommatus bellargus | Polyommatus celina | Polyommatus coridon | Polyommatus cramera | Polyommatus damon | Polyommatus daphnis | Polyommatus dolus | Polyommatus dorylas | Polyommatus eros | Polyommatus escheri | Polyommatus eumedon | Polyommatus eurypilus | Polyommatus fabressei | Polyommatus hispanus | Polyommatus icarus | Polyommatus idas | Polyommatus loewii | Polyommatus morronensis | Polyommatus nicias | Polyommatus nivescens | Polyommatus orbitulus | Polyommatus pylaon | Polyommatus pyrenaicus | Polyommatus ripartii | Polyommatus semiargus | Polyommatus thersites