Glaucopsyche lygdamus
Glaucopsyche lygdamus, the silvery blue, is a small butterfly native to North America.
Description
Its upperside is a light blue in males and a dull grayish blue in females. The underside is gray with a single row of round spots of differing sizes depending upon the region.Distribution and habitat
G. lygdamus is found over much of the western United States and most of Canada extending north excepting most of Nunavut and the high Arctic islands. Wingspan is from 18 to 28 mm. It occurs in a variety of habitats including alpine meadows, shale barrens, dunes, and wooded areas. It feeds on Lupinus plants.Taxonomy
The extinct Xerces blue was once thought to be a subspecies of the silvery blue.Subspecies
Listed alphabetically:- G. l. afra - Afra blue
- G. l. arizonensis McDunnough, 1934 - Arizona silvery blue
- G. l. australis - southern blue
- G. l. columbia - Columbia blue or Skinner's blue
- G. l. couperi Grote, 1873 - Couper's silvery blue
- G. l. deserticola - Mojave silvery blue
- G. l. incognitus Tilden, 1974 - Behr's silvery blue
- G. l. jacki Stallings & Turner, 1947 - Jack's blue
- G. l. lygdamus - silvery blue
- G. l. mildredae F. Chermock, 1944 - Mildred's silvery blue
- G. l. minipunctum - mini-spotted silvery blue
- G. l. nittanyensis - Appalachian silvery blue
- G. l. oro Samuel [Hubbard Scudder|Scudder], 1876 - oro blue
- G. l. palosverdesensis - Palos Verdes blue
- G. l. pseudoxerces - false Xerces blue
- G. l. sabulosa - sand dune silvery blue
Visually similar species
- Eastern tailed-blue has small 'tails' on hindwings
- Western tailed-blue has small 'tails' on hindwings
- Arrowhead blue
- Greenish blue has two rows of small black spots on the underside of both wings
- Boisduval's blue has two rows of small black spots on the underside of both wings