Long-tailed Blue. Photo: Alan Bowley

Long-tailed Blue. Photo: Alan Bowley

Alan sent in these two photos of a butterfly which flew into his house in Bridport on 28/09/2022 with some uncertainty about its ID – this however has now been confirmed by our verifiers as a Long-tailed-Blue.

The Long-tailed Blue is a migratory butterfly and occasional visitor to southern England.  It is most easily identified by the distinctive “tails” on the trailing edge of the hindwing (clearly shown in these photos) with two adjacent black spots and the white striping on the undersides of both the hindwings and forewings.