Greenish Blue
(Icaricia saepiolus – formerly Plebejus saepiolus)
Blues
Appearance: Below, gray with marginal and submarginal spot band equally prominent, but less intense than bold postmedian black spots which show less circling white than on similar Boisduval’s Blue. Male above iridescent blue with greenish tints basally and with conspicuous black and white edging to wings. Female orange-brown to bluish toward body. Both sexes can show cell-end bars on forewings.
Wingspan: Small; 1 to 1 1/4 inches.
Habitat: Forest openings with abundant clover, wet meadows with flowers, stream edges, bogs, and roadsides; foothills, montane, alpine.
Flight Times: May to August; one brood.
Larval Foodplant: Flowers of various clovers and milk vetches.
Did You Know…
Females lay individual eggs on flowers of clover and subalpine milkvetches. The larvae overwinter and resume eating the following spring before they pupate. Although often hard to see in the field, the species is probably named for the greenish blue scales found near the base of both wings.
