Lupine Blue (Plebejus lupinus [Boisduval])
Wing span: 7/8 - 1 1/8 inches (2.2 - 2.9 cm).
Identification: Upperside of male lilac blue with wide dark borders; female dark brown. Band at hindwing outer margin wide, orange-red, in male may be divided into separate chevrons.
Life history: Males patrol near the host plants for females. Eggs are laid singly on flowers, which the caterpillars eat. Second-stage caterpillars hibernate.
Flight: In the Sierra Nevada of California, one flight from June-August; elsewhere, several flights from March-July.
Caterpillar hosts: Several species of perennial wild buckwheat including sulfur flower (Eriogonum umbellatum) and flat top (Eriogonum fasciculatum) in the buckwheat family (Polygonaceae).
Adult food: Flower nectar.
Habitat: Mid-elevation mountain meadows, rocky outcrops, chaparral, and sagebrush.
Range: Central Washington south through Oregon, California, and Nevada to Baja California Norte.
