- Lifespan
- 2–4 weeks as an adult; larvae overwinter and can live several months
- Size & Weight
- Wingspan 25–30 mm
- Habitat
- Grasslands, meadows, and coastal areas with bird's-foot trefoil and other legume plants.
- UK Distribution
- Widespread and common throughout England, Wales, and southern Scotland; resident with populations reinforced by occasional continental immigrants.
- Diet
- Adults feed on nectar from wildflowers; caterpillars feed exclusively on bird's-foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) and related legumes.
- Predators
- Spiders, robber flies, birds, and small mammals.
- Mating Season
- May to September, typically with two or three broods per year
- Breeding
- Females lay eggs singly on food plants; caterpillars develop in 3–4 weeks; chrysalis stage lasts 7–10 days or overwinters; two to three generations annually.
- Behaviour
- Males establish territories on sunny days and perch low to the ground, pursuing passing insects. They are highly territorial and engage in characteristic 'perching' behaviour. Flight is rapid and jerky.