Plebejus icarioides

Plebejus icarioides is the largest North American blue. Resident in somewhat patchy distribution over most of western United States and into southern Canada (Scott 1986). Habitats are transition to Hudsonian zone woods clearings, prairie and sagebrush. Host plants are shrubs restricted to species in one genus, Lupinus (Leguminosae). Eggs are laid on the host plant singly. Larvae eat leaves, flowers, fruits and young shoots, and are tended by ants. Individuals overwinter in leaf litter as second-stage larvae. There is one flight each year in most of the range, with the approximate flight time Jun15-Aug.15; in the southern part of the range April1-June 30; in Colorado plains there are two flights, late May-June30, and Aug1-early Sept. (Scott 1986).

Boisduval's Blue lacks orange markings on the hindwing underside, and the hindwing spots are prominently ringed with white; most similar to the Greenish Blue (Plebejus saepiolus), but the forewing underside spots are much more prominent than those of the hindwing, while the Greenish Blue has equally well-marked fore- and hindwing markings. Boisduval's males also lack the forewing upperside discal spot found in saepiolus. Balint & Johnson (1997) and Gorbunov (2001) provide alternative genus placement interpretations.

Central BC and southern Alberta south to Baja California and New Mexico (Opler 1999); there are also populations in the Cypress Hills of Alberta / Saskatchewan and extreme south-central Saskatchewan (Layberry et al. 1998).

occurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations

Canada

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

United States

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

Global Range: (>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)) British Columbia to southern California; east to western Saskatchewan, the Dakotas, Nebraska, Colorado and New Mexico.

Praire grassland and dry montane meadows where lupines are common.

Comments: Quite general: dunes, mountains, meadows, streams, sage- lands. Open areas or openings in woods near its larval host (genus Lupinus).

Non-Migrant: No. All populations of this species make significant seasonal migrations.

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make local extended movements (generally less than 200 km) at particular times of the year (e.g., to breeding or wintering grounds, to hibernation sites).

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make annual migrations of over 200 km.

The larval host plant is not reported for Alberta, but is undoubtedly one or more species of lupine (Lupinus spp.). Many species of lupine have been reported as hosts in the western US (Scott 1986), although colonies are only ever associated with one species in a given locality (Guppy & Shepard 2001).

Note: For many non-migratory species, occurrences are roughly equivalent to populations.

Estimated Number of Occurrences: 81 to >300

10,000 to >1,000,000 individuals

Adults feed on mud and occasionally flower nectar. Males patrol for females (Scott, 1986).

One flight per year, peaking in June and July depending on elevation.

The immature stages have been described by Comstock and Dammers (1935) from California; the egg is greenish white, and mature larvae are green with a pale dorsal and lateral stripe and pale oblique lateral bands. The pupa is green and chestnut red. Eggs are laid on the leaves or seed pods of the host plant, and hibernate as full-grown second instar larvae in California (Newcomer 1911, Comstock and Dammers 1935). Trichogramma wasps (Trichogrammatidae) parasitize the eggs (Downey 1962), and larvae are attacked by the braconid wasp Apanteles theclae Riley and tachinid flies (Downey 1962, Newcomer 1911). Larvae are tended by ants in BC (Guppy & Shepard 2001) and elsewhere (Downey 1962).

The following is a representative barcode sequence, the centroid of all available sequences for this species.

There is 1 barcode sequence available from BOLD and GenBank.   Below is the sequence of the barcode region Cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI or COX1) from a member of the species.  See the BOLD taxonomy browser for more complete information about this specimen.  Other sequences that do not yet meet barcode criteria may also be available.

Download FASTA File

Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 1
Specimens with Barcodes: 1
Species With Barcodes: 1

Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 0
Specimens with Barcodes: 43
Species With Barcodes: 1

Not of concern.

Canada

Rounded National Status Rank: N5 - Secure

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: N5 - Secure

Rounded Global Status Rank: G5 - Secure

Reasons: Widespread and abundant in western North America. The sub- species I. I. MISSIONENSIS and I. I. MOROENSIS are of higher priority.

Other Considerations: Any one population of I. icaroides is usually restricted to one species of Lupinus.

Degree of Threat: D : Unthreatened throughout its range, communities may be threatened in minor portions of the range or degree of variation falls within natural variation

Global Protection: Many to very many (13 to >40) occurrences appropriately protected and managed