This small butterfly is characteristic of southern chalk and limestone grassland. It is a close relative of the Northern Brown Argus, which is restricted to Scotland and northern England.  The adults have a silvery appearance as they fly low to the ground and they stop frequently either to perch or feed on flowers. They may be confused with Common Blue females, which also have brown upperwings but usually with some blue at the base.  The butterfly spread rapidly in the mid-1990s but lost ground in the last three years of the twentieth century.