North American Butterflies and Moths List

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Butterflies of North America

Butterflies of California

Shasta Blue (Plebeius [Icaricia] shasta)
JPG -- species photo

Shasta Blue (Plebeius shasta [W. H. Edwards])

Wing span: 7/8 - 1 1/8 inches (2.2 - 3 cm).

Identification: Upperside of male lilac blue with a wide dark border; female darker, may have orange band at outer margin of hindwing. Both sexes with dark cell bars on fore- and hindwings. Underside of both sexes gray with black postmedian spots; other spots are dark gray. Hindwing outer margin with iridescent green spots capped by a light band.

Life history: Males fly just above the ground to search for females. Eggs are laid singly on leaves of host plants; caterpillars feed on leaves and flowers. Where found above timberline, these butterflies require 2 years to mature, spending their first winter as eggs and the second winter as mature caterpillars.

Flight: One brood from June-August.

Caterpillar hosts: Various Astragalus, Lupinus, and Trifolium species of the pea family (Fabaceae).

Adult food: Flower nectar.

Habitat: Cushion-plant communities in forest openings, sagebrush hills, high plains, prairies, and alpine fell-fields.

Range: High elevations from Washington east to North Dakota and Nebraska; south to central California and Colorado.

Conservation: Not usually of conservation concern.

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.

Shasta Blue (Plebeius [Icaricia] shasta)
distribution map
map legend

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