Vinu Mathew found and photographed two Mediterranean Blue
T. rosaceus mating recently
near Dhahran and kindly sent me his photos and has allowed me to use them on my
website. The Mediterranean Blue is found in N Africa, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, S Iran and NW India. The adults are strong
flyers with a jerky and rapid flight. The wingspan is 24–32 mm for males and
24–34 mm for females. The larval foodplants include Paliurus spina-christi, Ziziphus; larvae attended by ants of genera Plagiolepis, Camponotus, Monomorium.
