Species Plebejus lupini - Lupine Blue - Hodges#4381

Classification · Hodges Number · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Habitat · Season · Food · Life Cycle · See Also · Internet References

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Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)

Superfamily Papilionoidea (Butterflies and Skippers)

Family Lycaenidae (Blues, Coppers, Hairstreaks, Harvesters)

Subfamily Polyommatinae (Blues)

Genus Plebejus

Species lupini (Lupine Blue - Hodges#4381)

Hodges Number

4381

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Icaricia lupini

Numbers

common and widespread throughout most of its range

Size

wingspan 17-29 mm

Identification

male upperside pale violet blue with narrow black borders and black hindwing spots surrounded by pink

female brown, often with blue sheen; hindwing spots surrounded by orange; black bar at end of forewing cell

underside pale bluish-gray with two rows of white-ringed black spots; outer hindwing row has metallic green centers; elongated orange spots between hindwing rows

larva grayish-yellow or pink with small black spots, green dorsal stripe, and pale oblique stripes

Range

throughout western United States and southwestern Canada

Habitat

mid-elevation mountain meadows, rocky outcrops, chaparral, and sagebrush

Season

adults fly from mid-June to early July on the Canadian prairies, and until early August in British Columbia; in the Sierra Nevada of California, one flight from June-August; elsewhere, several flights from March-July

Food

larvae feed on leaves, flowers, and fruits of several species of perennial wild buckwheat including Sulfur Flower (Eriogonum umbellatum) and Flat Top (Eriogonum fasciculatum) in the buckwheat family (Polygonaceae)

Life Cycle

one generation per year in the north; overwinters as a half-grown larva; eggs are laid singly on leaves and flowers

See Also

The male of the Acmon Blue is lighter/brighter than the Lupine Blue; the Acmon Blue is restricted to California, western Oregon, and western Nevada (see map).

Internet References

pinned adult images plus US distribution map, common name reference, description, biology, food plants, etc. (Butterflies and Skippers of North America)

pinned adult image [listed as Icaricia lupini] plus Canadian distribution map, description, food plants, biology, etc. (Butterflies of Canada; CBIF)

synonym reference [Icaricia lupini] (The International Lepidoptera Survey, ttr.org)

Contributed by Robin McLeod on 19 August, 2005 - 5:35pm
Additional contributions by Steve Nanz
Last updated 3 July, 2017 - 1:33pm

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