Aricia icarioides
Encyclopedia
Boisduval's Blue is a butterfly of the Lycaenidae
family found in North America.
A. icarioides has been classified in at least four different genera since it was named by Boisduval in 1852. It started out in Lycaena, was transferred to Icaricia by Nabokov (Hodges et al., 1983), moved to Aricia by Bálint and Johnson (1997), merged with some other genera in the supergenus Plebejus by Gorbunov (2001), which was accepted by Opler & Warren (2003), however, Lamas (2004) among others use Aricia. Synonymy, subgenera, and subspecies vary considerably depending on the author.
Their range extends throughout the western US and Canada from southern Saskatchewan to British Columbia.
Larvae feed on species of lupines (Lupinus).
Wingspan: 21 to 32 mm.
Lycaenidae
The Lycaenidae are the second-largest family of butterflies, with about 6000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies...
family found in North America.
A. icarioides has been classified in at least four different genera since it was named by Boisduval in 1852. It started out in Lycaena, was transferred to Icaricia by Nabokov (Hodges et al., 1983), moved to Aricia by Bálint and Johnson (1997), merged with some other genera in the supergenus Plebejus by Gorbunov (2001), which was accepted by Opler & Warren (2003), however, Lamas (2004) among others use Aricia. Synonymy, subgenera, and subspecies vary considerably depending on the author.
Their range extends throughout the western US and Canada from southern Saskatchewan to British Columbia.
Larvae feed on species of lupines (Lupinus).
Wingspan: 21 to 32 mm.
Similar species
- Greenish Blue (Aricia saepiolusAricia saepiolusThe Greenish Blue is a butterfly of the Lycaenidae family. It is found from northwestern United States to southern Saskatchewan and Alberta.The wingspan is 21–28 mm...
) - Silvery Blue (Glaucopsyche lygdamusGlaucopsyche lygdamusThe Silvery Blue is a small butterfly native to North America. Upperside is a light blue in males, a dull grayish blue in females. Underside is gray with single row of round spots of differing sizes depending upon region.G...
)
Subspecies
- Aricia icarioides icarioides
- Aricia icarioides fenderiFender's blue butterflyFender's blue is an endangered subspecies of butterfly found only in the Willamette Valley of northwestern Oregon, United States. The species was first noticed in the 1920s but wasn't scientifically documented and named until 1931 by biologist Ralph Macy...
– Fender's Blue - Aricia icarioides missionensisMission blue butterflyThe Mission Blue is a blue or lycaenid butterfly subspecies native to the San Francisco Bay Area of the United States. The butterfly has been declared as endangered by the US Federal Government. It is a subspecies of Boisduval's Blue .- Description :The endangered Mission Blue has a wingspan of...
– Mission Blue - Aricia icarioides moroensis
- Aricia icarioides pardalis
- Aricia icarioides pheres
- Aricia icarioides ardea
- Aricia icarioides lycea
- Aricia icarioides buchholzi
- Aricia icarioides pembina
- Aricia icarioides blackmoreiIcaricia icarioides blackmoreiIcaricia icarioides blackmorei also known by its common name Puget Blue is a butterfly native to the Puget Sound area.-Description:...
- Aricia icarioides montis
- Aricia icarioides atascadero
- Aricia icarioides santana
- Aricia icarioides eosierra
- Aricia icarioides argusmontana
- Aricia icarioides panamintina