Adonis blue

Its shiny blue colour is where its name comes from. Adonis was a very handsome young man in old Greek stories.

The caterpillar is dark green with yellow stripes and little dark spines.

When something disturbs it, it drops down into the grass with a little jump to hide.

At night it sleeps on flowers or grass stalks with its wings shut tight, but by day it rests with them open in the sun.

In Britain there are far fewer Adonis blues than before, because many of the grassy hills where their food plant grows have disappeared.