North American Butterflies and Moths List

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Butterflies of North America

Butterflies of California

Arrowhead Blue (Glaucopsyche piasus)
JPG -- species photo

Arrowhead Blue (Glaucopsyche piasus [Boisduval])

Wing span: 1 1/8 - 1 3/8 inches (2.9 - 3.5 cm).

Identification: Checkered fringes. Upperside of male violet blue with a wide border; female duller. Underside gray with many small black spots. Hindwing with postmedian band of white "arrowheads" pointing inward.

Life history: Males patrol during the day near host plants. Females lay eggs on flower buds of host plant; caterpillars eat flowers and fruits. Chrysalids hibernate.

Flight: One brood from March-July.

Caterpillar hosts: Lupine (Lupinus) and milkvetch (Astragalus) species in the pea family (Fabaceae).

Adult food: Flower nectar.

Habitat: Coastal dunes and lowlands in California; mountains elsewhere: scrub, openings in woods, roadsides, trails, meadows, clearings, streamsides.

Range: Local and uncommon. British Columbia and southern Alberta south through the mountains of western North America to southern California, northern Arizona, and western Nebraska.

Conservation: Populations in southern California need assessment; elsewhere populations are probably not in jeopardy.

The Nature Conservancy Global Rank: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.

Management needs: Not reported.

References:


Scott, J. A. 1986. The butterflies of North America. Stanford  University Press, 

    Stanford, Calif. 583 pages, 64 color plates.



Tilden, J. W. 1986. A field guide to western butterflies.  Houghton-Mifflin Co., 

    Boston, Mass. 370 pages, 23 color plates.

Author: Jane M. Struttmann

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.

Arrowhead Blue (Glaucopsyche piasus)
distribution map
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