Silvery Blue
Glaucopsyche lygdamus (Doubleday, 1841)
Family: Lycaenidae
Subfamily: Polyommatinae
Identification: Upperside of male iridescent silvery blue with narrow dark borders; female darker blue with wide borders. Both sexes have white fringe. Underside gray-brown; both wings with row of white-ringed, round black spots. Subspecies xerces (Boisduval) and pseudoxerces Emmel and Emmel have large white spots with or without black centers.
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.
Caterpillar Hosts: Astragalus, Lotus, Lupinus, Melilotus, Oxytropis, Lathyrus, Vicia, and other species in the pea family.
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.
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.
NCGR:
Management Needs: Conserve all remaining habitat for the Palos Verdes Blue. Investigate status and conservation needs of subspecies pseudoxerces.
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Verified Sightings
Displaying 1 - 24 of 2790 verified sightings
Observation date: Mar 28, 2025
Submitted by: MAKI
Region: Ventura County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Mar 29, 2025
Observation date: Mar 28, 2025
Submitted by: ezeemonee
Region: Monterey County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Mar 29, 2025
Observation date: Mar 24, 2025
Submitted by: Zencoyote
Region: San Diego County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Mar 27, 2025
Observation date: Mar 26, 2025
Submitted by: ezeemonee
Region: Santa Clara County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Mar 27, 2025
Observation date: Mar 21, 2025
Submitted by: MAKI
Region: Ventura County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Mar 22, 2025
Observation date: Mar 09, 2025
Submitted by: ezeemonee
Region: Ventura County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Mar 10, 2025
Observation date: Mar 10, 2025
Submitted by: Zencoyote
Region: San Diego County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Mar 10, 2025
Observation date: Feb 23, 2025
Submitted by: ezeemonee
Region: Ventura County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Mar 03, 2025
Observation date: May 29, 1981
Submitted by: stevecary
Region: Lincoln County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Feb 10, 2025
Observation date: May 30, 1994
Submitted by: stevecary
Region:
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Feb 10, 2025
Observation date: Jun 01, 2024
Submitted by: James F Parker
Region: Southeast Fairbanks, Alaska, United States
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: Oct 07, 2024
Observation date: May 29, 2024
Submitted by: dvollmar
Region: Bennington County, Vermont, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Aug 09, 2024
Observation date: Jun 25, 2024
Submitted by: Cascade Colors
Region: Grand County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: mikefisher
Verified date: Jul 25, 2024
Observation date: Jun 14, 2024
Submitted by: sgguthart
Region: Larimer County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: mikefisher
Verified date: Jul 23, 2024
Observation date: Jun 23, 2024
Submitted by: k.d.stutzman
Region: Park County, Wyoming, United States
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: Jul 13, 2024
Observation date: May 31, 2024
Submitted by: James F Parker
Region: Southeast Fairbanks, Alaska, United States
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: Jul 02, 2024
Observation date: May 27, 2024
Submitted by: CheddahCurt
Region: Alberta, Canada
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jul 02, 2024
Observation date: Jun 03, 2024
Submitted by: Cascade Colors
Region: Grand County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: mikefisher
Verified date: Jul 01, 2024
Observation date: Jun 01, 2024
Submitted by: Cascade Colors
Region: Grand County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: mikefisher
Verified date: Jul 01, 2024
Observation date: Jun 21, 2024
Submitted by: regina rochefort
Region: Skagit County, Washington, United States
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: Jun 23, 2024
Observation date: Jun 05, 2024
Submitted by: Tom Dudones
Region: Franklin County, New York, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jun 17, 2024
Observation date: Jun 12, 2024
Submitted by: Doug Backlund
Region: Stanley County, South Dakota, United States
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: Jun 17, 2024
Observation date: Jun 09, 2024
Submitted by: weflybye
Region: Mason County, Washington, United States
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: Jun 14, 2024
Observation date: Jun 10, 2024
Submitted by: NikkiM
Region: Yellowstone County, Montana, United States
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: Jun 13, 2024
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