The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.

[1] It is not particularly common due to this specialist habitat, but neither is it a threatened species.

[2] Eggs are laid in rings around plant stalks,[3] and can survive immersion in salt water.

The blue-grey larvae feed on various shrubs and herbaceous plants such as heather, cypress spurge, and Lotus species, and other plants found in their habitat except grasses, but they can be fed apple or hawthorn foliage in captivity.

[3] Adults fly from June to August, depending on the location.