North American Plebejus
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North America's approximately one dozen Plebejus species puts the genera close to the top of high number of species scale.
With the exception of the Southeast, Plebejus species fly near fields, forests and roadsides. The five species presented below fairly represent the group.
The Acmon Blue (Plebejus acmon), a small, West Coast butterfly, looks similar to the Lupine Blue.
Its range is more limited than the Lupine Blue, extending only along the West Cost, west of the Cascades and Sierra Nevada.
In areas where the two species share overlapping territory, field identification can be difficult.
The top picture shows a side view of the male. The iridescent marks encircling the black spots on top of the orange marks represent the best field identification marks.
With their wings folded, Acmon Blue butterflies are about the size of a dime, so getting a close-up view is the only way to properly identify one.
Boisduval's Blue (Plebejus icarioides), another common Western butterfly, commonly gets identified by the presences of white spots and black dots on the underside of the wings.
Picture two shows a mating pair, highlighting the wing pattern on both the male and the female.
The Greenish Blue butterfly (Plebejus saepiolus), a common Western species typifies blues. Females, picture three, have distinct brown wings.
Picture four highlights the male's blue, bordered wings.
The Melissa Blue Butterfly (Lycaeides melissa), a fairly common western species, also has an endangered subspecies, the Karner Blue of the Great Lakes region.
Picture five shows a side view of a male with the characteristic orange spots along both wing edges.
The Larvae enjoy a mutualistic relationship with ants. The ants protect them from predators, and in return they (ants) feed on larvae secretions.
The Northern Blue (Plebejus idas), a complex, or group of butterflies, represents about a dozen different North American subspecies
In common with the Melissa Blue, the Great Lakes Northern Blue subspecies are considered endangered or threatened.
Picture six shows a side view of the male with the characteristic dark spots on the wings (smaller on the bottom wing). Both the top and bottom borders of the wings have orange marks.
The female Northern Blue shown in the bottom picture highlights the characteristic orange spotted, brown wings. Male top wings are blue without the orange marks.
© 2008-2011 Patricia A. Michaels