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 habitatedit
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.[2][3] It occurs in a variety of habitats including alpine meadows, shale barrens, dunes, and wooded areas.[4] It feeds on Lupinus plants.[5]
Taxonomyedit
The extinctXerces blue (Glaucopsyche xerces) was once thought to be a subspecies of the silvery blue.
^Mitten, J. B.; Sturgeon, K. B. (1982). "1. Biotic Interactions and Evolutionary Change". Bark Beetles in North American Conifers. University of Texas Press. p. 14. ISBN0292707444.
^Glaucopsyche at Markku Savela's website on Lepidoptera
Darby, Gene (1958). What is a Butterfly. Chicago: Benefic Press. p. 36.
External linksedit
Media related to Glaucopsyche lygdamus at Wikimedia Commons
, Talk about Wildlife
Silvery blue, Massachusetts Butterfly Club
January 01, 1970
glaucopsyche, lygdamus, silvery, blue, redirects, here, other, butterfly, with, this, common, name, lepidochrysops, glauca, silvery, blue, small, butterfly, native, north, america, silvery, blue, couperi, ottawa, ontario, canada, conservation, status, secure, . Silvery blue redirects here For the other butterfly with this common name see Lepidochrysops glauca Glaucopsyche lygdamus the silvery blue is a small butterfly native to North America Silvery blue G l couperi Ottawa Ontario Canada Conservation status Secure NatureServe 1 Scientific classification Domain Eukaryota Kingdom Animalia Phylum Arthropoda Class Insecta Order Lepidoptera Family Lycaenidae Genus Glaucopsyche Species G lygdamus Binomial name Glaucopsyche lygdamus Edward Doubleday 1841 Subspecies See text Contents 1 Description 2 Distribution and habitat 3 Taxonomy 3 1 Subspecies 4 Visually similar species 5 References 6 External linksDescription editIts 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 editG 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 2 3 It occurs in a variety of habitats including alpine meadows shale barrens dunes and wooded areas 4 It feeds on Lupinus plants 5 Taxonomy editThe extinct Xerces blue Glaucopsyche xerces was once thought to be a subspecies of the silvery blue Subspecies edit nbsp G l couperii on tufted vetch Vicia cracca Calgary Alberta Canada nbsp G l palosverdesensis Listed alphabetically 6 G l afra W H Edwards 1884 Afra silvery blue G l arizonensis McDunnough 1934 Arizona silvery blue G l australis F Grinnell 1917 southern silvery blue G l columbia Skinner 1917 Columbia blue or Skinner s silvery blue G l couperi Grote 1873 Couper s silvery blue G l deserticola Austin amp J Emmel 1998 Mojave silvery blue G l incognitus Tilden 1974 Behr s silvery blue G l jacki Stallings amp Turner 1947 Jack s silvery blue G l lygdamus Edward Doubleday 1841 Georgian silvery blue G l mildredae F Chermock 1944 Mildred s silvery blue G l minipunctum Austin 1998 mini spotted silvery blue G l nittanyensis F Chermock 1944 Appalachian silvery blue G l oro Scudder 1876 oro silvery blue G l palosverdesensis E Perkins amp J Emmel 1977 Palos Verdes blue G l pseudoxerces Emmel amp Emmel 1998 false Xerces silvery blue G l sabulosa Emmel Emmel amp Mattoon 1998 sand dune silvery blueVisually similar species editEastern tailed blue Cupido comyntas has small tails on hindwings Western tailed blue Cupido amyntula has small tails on hindwings Arrowhead blue Glaucopsyche piasus Greenish blue Aricia saepiolus has two rows of small black spots on the underside of both wings 3 Boisduval s blue Aricia icarioides has two rows of small black spots on the underside of both wings 3 References edit NatureServe Explorer 2 0 explorer natureserve org Retrieved 1 November 2022 Jim P Brock and K Kaufman 2003 Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies of North America New York NY Houghton Mifflin p 124 a b c Silvery Blue Butterflies of Canada Glaucopsyche lygdamus explorer natureserve org Mitten J B Sturgeon K B 1982 1 Biotic Interactions and Evolutionary Change Bark Beetles in North American Conifers University of Texas Press p 14 ISBN 0292707444 Glaucopsyche at Markku Savela s website on Lepidoptera Darby Gene 1958 What is a Butterfly Chicago Benefic Press p 36 External links edit nbsp Media related to Glaucopsyche lygdamus at Wikimedia Commons Silvery blue Talk about Wildlife Silvery blue Massachusetts Butterfly Club Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Glaucopsyche lygdamus amp oldid 1164736358, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
