Mystery Blue - Brephidium pseudofea

Moved

Moved from Butterflies (excluding skippers).

… David J. Ferguson, 29 November, 2009 - 4:01pm

Moved

Moved from ID Request.

… v belov, 28 November, 2009 - 3:47pm

Definitely Eastern

A female

… David J. Ferguson, 13 November, 2009 - 12:45pm

David, is there only Eastern at this point?

I vaguely remember that the two overlapped in Texas and that the Western was smaller. Checking posts here, I was surprised to see more Western than Eastern. Now I'm wondering if our Western posts are wrong. Any thoughts on this?

… Ron Hemberger, 29 November, 2009 - 4:28pm

As far as I can tell

All the Brephidium on BugGuide are correctly identified. The Western Pygmy is really really really (really really) common, so I'm surprized there aren't more photos of it (it is a bit difficult to shoot something so active and tiny). I don't know if the Eastern Pygmy is so abundant, but I get the impression that it is strictly coastal (or nearly so), while the Western is all over the southwest.

I think they do overlap in Texas. Check this page out.

There is even one of these in Africa (different species or not? - it's got another name); so, they're tiny, only a few species, but they get around.

… David J. Ferguson, 29 November, 2009 - 6:06pm

Interesting

Thanks for the info, David. I think a lot of Western Pygmies go unnoticed because of size and low, rapid flight. I also find them hard to shoot, but have had some success sitting in the trail and waiting for them to land.

… Ron Hemberger, 29 November, 2009 - 8:25pm

So...

...are you all contesting the designation of this pic as Eastern?

… Tzila "Z" Duenzl, 29 November, 2009 - 8:44pm

Oh, no. Not at all.

Just wanted clarification on the eastern/western thing raised earlier in your post.

… Ron Hemberger, 30 November, 2009 - 8:52am

Oh yes...

...I lucked out for these pics. No wind, and the B-fly landed on the flower right in front of me. I was very careful though, because I didn't want to scare it away...I had never seen one, and really wanted to get a pic or 2.

… Tzila "Z" Duenzl, 30 November, 2009 - 11:52am

Thank you!

Good to know.

… Tzila "Z" Duenzl, 13 November, 2009 - 12:53pm

Eastern or Western?

You might be interested in information gathered about the genus Brephidium in Louisiana during my study of the butterflies and skippers of the state.
This album of images and data on our website suggests that the Eastern Pygmy Blue may have moved westward into LA, and during the period 1968-1992 may have replaced the Western Pygmy Blue. I don’t have current information about the genus in Louisiana, but the Eastern Pygmy Blue has been reported for Texas in recent years.
A study of our images may help you decide which one you have.
Gayle

… Gayle and Jeanell Strickland, 13 November, 2009 - 8:52am

Thank you!

I'll take a gander at that.

… Tzila "Z" Duenzl, 13 November, 2009 - 12:53pm