Family:Lycaenidae
Family
Description:
Note: Some authors refer to this species as Lycaeides
argyrognomon, and others list it with the genus name Plebejus.
This species is very similar to the Melissa Blue (L. melissa) and in
certain parts of its range can only be distinguished by dissection.
Range:
This species is holarctic, which means it occurs in the
temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. In North America, it ranges from
Alaska south and east across Canada to the east coast; south through western
Washington and Oregon to central California; in portions of Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado; and in the Great Lakes
states.
Habitat:
It occurs in open areas including tundra, meadows, forest openings, and bogs.
Diet:
Caterpillar:
Caterpillars feed on various members of the heath family (Ericaceae) in
the eastern part of its range, and on legumes (Lupinus, Astragalus,
and Lotus spp.) in the west.
Adult:
Butterflies drink flower nectar.
Ecology:
The caterpillar is equipped with a honey gland, also known as a dorsal nectary
organ, which emits a sugary solution agreeable to ants. The ants feed on
the solution and in turn protect the caterpillar from predators. Also for protection,
the caterpillar bears a pair of everscible tubercles or tentacles
on the eighth segment.
These tubercles are usually housed within the body, but when the caterpillar
feels threatened by the approach of a potential predator, they can be pushed
out to release a chemical which mimics an ant alarm pheromone. This scent causes the ants to become
frenzied and aggressive, and the potential predator takes leave or is eaten
by the ants. There is one generation of caterpillars each summer. Each caterpillar
undergoes four stages of growth, called instars.
Both eggs and young caterpillars can overwinter in a physiological state called
diapause. Adults generally
fly from June to
early October.
Reproduction:
Males actively patrol,
most often near host plants
,
in search of receptive females. Females lay eggs singly on the stems of host
plants or in the litter below.
Conservation:
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Global Rank: | G5; most populations are widespread, abundant, and secure. However, subspecies L. idas lotis of California is ranked as T1, which means it is critically imperiled because of extreme rarity and is imminently vulnerable to extinction. |
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Opler, P. A., H. Pavulaan, and R. E. Stanford. 1995. Butterflies of North America. Jamestown, North Dakota, USA: Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center Home Page. http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/distr/lepid/bflyusa/bflyusa.htm (Version 05Nov98).
Opler, P. A. and A. B.Wright. 1999. A Field Guide to the Western Butterflies. Second Edition. Peterson Field Guide Series. Houghton Mifflin Company, New York, New York, USA, 540 pp.
Pyle, R. M. 1981. National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Butterflies. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York, New York, USA, 924 pp.
Scott, J. A. 1986. The Butterflies of North America. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California, USA, 583 pp.
Stanford, R. E. and P. A. Opler. 1993. Atlas of Western U.S.A. Butterflies (Including Adjacent Parts of Canada and Mexico). Published by authors, Denver, Colorado, USA, 275 pp.