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Lupine

Butterflies

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Silvery Blue
Glaucopsyche lygdamus )

 silveryblue
  • Caterpillar Hosts:  Lupinus,  and other species in the pea family.
  • Wing Span: 7/8 – 1 1/4 inches (2.2 – 3.2 cm).
  • Life History: Males patrol near the host plants for females. Eggs are laid singly on flower buds and young leaves of the host plants. Caterpillars feed on flowers, seedpods, and young leaves and are tended by ants. Chrysalids hibernate.
  • Flight: One flight from March-June at low elevations, June-August at high elevations.
  • Conservation: Subspecies palosverdesensis is thought to be extinct. Its historic range and its hostplant Astragalus leucopsis in the Palos Verdes Hills in Los Angeles County, California is largely extirpated, but an additional population was discovered in nearby San Pedro. This subspecies has The Nature Conservancy rank of T1 – Critically imperiled globally because of extreme rarity (5 or fewer occurrences, or very few remaining individuals), or because of some factor of its biology making it especially vulnerable to extinction. (Critically endangered throughout its range). Subspecies xerces is TX – Presumed extinct. Subspecies pseudoxerces is rank T2.
 SONY DSC
  • Adult Food: Nectar from flowers including Asteraceae.
  • Habitat: A variety of locations including open woods, coastal dunes, prairies, meadows, road edges, rocky moist woods, and brushy fields.
  • Range: Central Alaska south to southern California, Baja California, Arizona, New Mexico, and western Kansas. Along northern United States east to Nova Scotia and south to Georgia.
  • Management Needs: Conserve all remaining habitat for the Palos Verdes Blue. Investigate status and conservation needs of subspecies pseudoxerces.
Lupine

Butterflies

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Afranius Duskywing
                            Erynnis afranius duskeywing2

 

Females lay eggs singly under leaves of the host plant.
Females lay eggs singly under leaves of the host plant.
  • Caterpillar Hosts: Various legumes including deerweed (Lotus scoparius), lupine (Lupinus species), and milkvetch (Astragalus species).
  • Wing Span: 1 1/4 – 1 3/8 inches (3.2 – 3.5 cm).
  • Life History: To seek females, males perch in gullies and swales during the day.
  • Flight: Several flights from March-August in southern California; 
  • Adult Food: Flower nectar.
  • Habitat: Open woodlands, edges and openings in forests, prairie.
  • Range: Montana and North Dakota south through the mountains to southern California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Mexico.
  • more info:   www. Wikpedia