Phengaris species are myrmecophiles. In the 4th instar they leave their host plant to crawl to ground and be adopted by ants. Some peacefully coexist in ant nest and others are social predators which eat their ant larvae. To survive they need three critical things: undisturbed habitat, special plants and specific ant relationships.Phengaris belong to Lycaenidae or the Blue Butterflies.

1. Phengaris / Maculinea
Alcon Blue, Phengaris alcon
Large Blue, Phengaris arion
Large Dusky Blue, Phengaris nausithous
Large Scarce Blue, Phengaris teleius
Myrmecophile
Phengaris species are myrmecophilic. The eggs
develop on the host plant until the 4th instar. When
the larvae climbs down the plant to wait for a passing
ant. Phengaris species have specific associations with
specific ant species. So not just any ant, but the ant
specific to that species in that area.
When the Right Ant appears, the caterpillar
communicates with special chemical which mimics the
ant’s semio-chemical signals. The ant gets duped and
carries the larvae off to the ant nest where it is
tended by worker ants through the larval stage until
it pupates. The Phengaris species have two-track
development programs of 10months or 22months.
25% larvae develop in 10months and 75% develop over
22 months. Despite the time difference, there are no
morphological differences observed.
Polyommatini: Phengaris sp

2. The Phengaris larvaee has 3 special organs to attract and
keep its ant.
1. DNO Dorsal Nectar Organ on 7th segment which
secrets honeydew for ants
2. TO an eversible Tentacle Organ on 8th segment which
sprays a chemical to ward off ants as defensive weapon.
3. PCO Pore Cupola Organ epidermal glands that secrete
chemicals that attract ants
In addition to this, the larvae sing. Phengaris larvae mimic
the stridulations of workers and ant queens, so the ants get
the honey-trap and then tend the larvae as if it were a queen
ant because it mimics queen ant commands.
Some Phengaris have mutualistic relationship with ant hosts,
but others are social parasites and as they develop, they
gobble up ant larvae in the ant nest while the workers are
tending them as ant queens. Clever?
If the ant nest is disturbed, the ants will rescue the Phengaris
before the ant larvae and if there is food shortage, the ants
feed the Phengaris larvae first.
But remember, the Phengaris larvae also produce secretions
for the ants.
So to survive, Phengaris species must have special plants and
specialized ant caretakers. Their l and should not be
disturbed
It’s complicated. They’re threatened..
Phengaris species

3. Synonyms: Maculinea nausithous
Food plants/larvae: Great Burnet, Sanguisorbis offinalis
Food plants/adults Great Burnet, Sanguisorbis offinalis
Habitat: fens, bogs, wetlands, peat meadows, carbonate
bogs, marsh
Myrmecophile: Myrmica rubra, M scabrinodis, M
ruginodis,
Predator: Neotypus melancephalus pusillus
Countries: Armenia, Austria, Azerbajan, Belarus,
Belgium, Czech Republic, Croatia, France, Germany,
Georgia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein,
Luxembourg, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Romania,
Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, The
Netherlands, Ukraine
Celakovice-Jirina, Czech Republic
Dusky Large Blue, Phengaris nausithous
Blues: Polyommatini

4. Synonym: Maculinea alcon
Food plants/larvae Marsh Gentian, Gentiana
pneumananthe
Food plants/ adult: Marsh Gentian, Gentiana
pneumananthe , Vetch, Vicia sp Betony, Betonica
offinalis, Willow Gentian, Gentiana asclepiadea
Habitat: flowery meadows, grasslands, litter
meadows, wet heathlands
Myrmecophile: Myrmica rubra, M ruginodis, M
scabrinodis, M vandeli
Countries: Albania, Austria, Belarus, Belgium,
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Corsica, Czech
Republic, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany,
Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Poland,
Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland, The Netherlands, Ukraine
Alcon Blue, Phengaris alcon

5. Synonym: Maculinea teleius
Plant food/larvae: Great Burnet, Sanguisorbis
offinales
Plant food/adult: Great Burnet, Sanguisorbis
offinales, Cow vetch, Vicia cracca
Habitat: bogs, humid grasslands, wet grassland,
rough grassland
Myrmecophile: Myrmica scabrinodis, M rubra, M
vandeli
social parasite that feeds on ant larvae
Countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic,
Croatia, France, Germany, Georgia, Hungary, Italy,
Japan, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein,
Luxembourg, Mongolia, Montenegro, Poland,
Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain,
Switzerland, Ukraine
Re-introduced: The Netherlands
Scarce Large Blue, Phengaris teleius

6. I have heard the caterpillar singing
I have heard the caterpillar singing
Blues throughout the night
As reigning queen to worker ant
Stridulent in demands
Strident lullabyes to the subservient
I have heard the caterpillar sing
With demands of honey dew
To satisfy its insatiable appetite.
With honeydew oblations, the gullible ants
Toil as slaves deep within the soil
To the strident tempo of the caterpillar's song
That echoes underground.
Imperious orders echo through a labyrinthine maze
For living sacrifice to gratify the hidden minotaur
From the vanishing population of the enslaved colony
I have heard the caterpillar singing glorious
Of the chrysalis to spread its wings
In the predawn darkness of the morning
I have heard the caterpillar singing.
Mary C Legg/ pogomcl © 2014
Caterpillar Music
caterpillar music
mixed sounds of the Phengaris alcon and Phengaris teleius
larvae singing
II have heard the caterpillar singing

7. mixed sounds of the Phengaris alcon and Phengaris
teleius larvae singing commands to worker ants. Sound
files were found in:
Variation in Butterfly Larval Acoustics as a Strategy to
Infiltrate and Exploit Host Ant Colony Resources
pubmedcentralcanada.ca/pmcc/articles/PMC3981827/
Variation in Butterfly Larval Acoustics as a Strategy to
Infiltrate and Exploit Host Ant Colony Resources
Marco Sala, Luca Pietro Casacci,* Emilio Balletto, Simona
Bonelli, and Francesca Barbero
University of Turin, Department of Life Sciences and
Systems Biology, Turin, Italy
Wulfila Gronenberg, Editor
University of Arizona, United States of America
addition credit:
We would like to thank Dr. Karsten Schönrogge (CEH,
Wallingford) and Prof. Jeremy Thomas (Oxford University,
Oxford) for providing the recording equipment and Dr.
Livio Favaro (Turin University, Turin) for fruitful
discussions and inputs on sound analysis.
I have heard the Caterpillar singing- sound credit