North American Butterflies and Moths List

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Butterflies of North America

Butterflies of California

Bauer's Dotted-Blue (Euphilotes baueri)

Bauer's Dotted-Blue (Euphilotes baueri [Shields])

Wing span: 3/4 - 7/8 inches (1.9 - 2.2 cm).

Identification: Male pale blue above without orange hindwing band. Female gray-brown with blue scaling extensive to almost none. Orange aurora band on outer edge of hindwing ranging from medium to absent. Underside snowy white with distinct black line on wing margins. Black spotting bold. Pale orange band on margin of hindwing narrow.

Life history: Males patrol all day near host plants to find receptive females. Eggs are laid singly on host plant flowers; caterpillars eat flowers and fruits, and are protected by ants. Chrysalids hibernate in sand or leaf litter.

Flight: One flight; mid-April to late June.

Caterpillar hosts: Various wild buckwheats (Eriogonum species): limited to Kennedy, strict, and oval-leafed buckwheats.

Adult food: Flower nectar especially that from Eriogonum species.

Habitat: Dry slopes and flats with scattered short brush.

Range: East and northeastern California, Nevada, and western Arizona.

Conservation: Habitats may be susceptible to invasion by cheatgrass. Surveys should be undertaken.

The Nature Conservancy Global Rank: G2,G3 - for species. Imperiled because of rarity (6 to 20 occurrences), or because of other factors demonstrably making it very vulnerable to extinction throughout its range. (Endangered throughout its range). OR very rare or local throughout its range or found locally in a restricted range . The Nature Conservancy rank of T1 - Critically imperiled 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) applies to a subspecies from the San Bernardino Mountains of southern California.

Management needs: Maintain habitat together with host plants of all known populations. Survey populations and their susceptibility to invasive alien weeds.

References:

Emmel, T.C., editor. 1998. Systematics of Western North American Butterflies. 
     Mariposa Press, Gainesville, Fla. 878 pp.

Opler, P.A. 1999. A field guide to western butterflies.  Houghton-Mifflin Co., 
     Boston, Mass. 540 pages, 44 color plates.

Scott, J. A. 1986. The butterflies of North America. Stanford University Press, 
     Stanford, Calif. 583 pages, 64 color plates.

Stanford, R. E. and P. A. Opler. 1993. Atlas of western USA butterflies including 
     adjacent parts of Canada and Mexico. Denver and Fort Collins, CO. 

Author: Paul A. Opler

State and Regional References:

Brown, J.W., Real, H.G., and D.K. Faulkner. 1992. Butterflies of Baja 
     California. Lepidoptera Research Foundation, Beverly Hills, Calif.

Comstock, J.A. 1927. Butterflies of California. Privately published, Los 
     Angeles, Calif. [Facsimile available from 	Entomological Reprint 
     Specialists, Los Angeles, Calif.]

Dameron, W. 1997. Searching for butterflies in southern California.
     Flutterby Press, Los Angeles, Calif.

Emmel, T.C. Editor. 1998. Systematics of western North American butterflies.
     Mariposa Press, Gainesville, Florida.

Emmel, T. C. and J. F. Emmel. 1973. The Butterflies of Southern California. 
     Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County Science Series No. 26.

Garth, J.S. and J.W. Tilden. 1986. California Butterflies.  California Natural
     History Guide 51. University of California Press, Berkeley and Los 
     Angeles.
     
Langston, R.L. 1981. The Rhopalocera of Santa Cruz Island, California. Journal
     of Research on the Lepidoptera 18: 24-35.     

Miller, Scott E. 1985. Butterflies of the Califorenia Channel Islands. Journal
     of the Research on the Lepidoptera 23: 282-296.     

Opler, Paul A. 1999. Peterson Field Guide to Western Butterflies, revised 
     edition. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Mass.

Orsak, L.J. 1977. The Butterflies of Orange County, California. Museum of 
     Systematic Biology, University of california, Irvine.

Stanford, R.E. and P.A. Opler. 1993. Atlas of Western USA Butterflies. 
     Privately published, Denver, Colo.

Steiner, J. 1990. Bay Area Butterflies: The Distribution and Natural History 
     of San Francisco Region Rhopalocera. Hayward, Calif.: Hayward State 
     University, Masters Thesis.

Tilden, J.W. and A.C. Smith. 1986. A Field Guide to Western Butterflies. 
     Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Mass.

Tilden, J.W. 1965. Butterflies of the San Francisco Bay Region. California 
     Natural History Guide 12. University of California Press, Berkeley and 
     Los Angeles.
Bauer's Dotted-Blue (Euphilotes baueri)
distribution map
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