Northern Blue

A Northern blue butterfly captured in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming.

comments (5)

travismorhardt

Lion

I am fairly certain this is a melissa blue, but if anyone has any objections or thinks differently, please let me know. This is where I determined identification:

http://bugguide.net/node/view/12406 Posted 10 years ago
1. WildFlower
  
  Lion
  
  I hate identifying the blues because there are so many similar species. In this case it could be Plebejus idas for instance, but I cannot tell which one it is. Even if you have photos of both sides of the wings, the differences are minute.
  http://butterfliesofamerica.com/t/Plebejus_idas_a.htm
  http://butterfliesofamerica.com/L/t/Plebejus_melissa_a.htm
  http://bugguide.net/node/view/184106/bgimage
  http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Plebejus-idas
  http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Plebejus-melissa Posted 10 years ago
2. 1. travismorhardt
    
    Lion
    
    Yes, they really are a pain to tell apart. From what I can tell, Plebejus idas seems to be a better identification than Plebejus melissa. Thank you, as always WildFlower, for your input! Posted 10 years ago

Ferdy Christant

Lion

Love the ends of its wings, such jewels. Posted 10 years ago
1. travismorhardt
  
  Lion
  
  I love blues! Aside from being a pain to identify, they are beautiful. Posted 10 years ago

The Plebejus idas

The Idas Blue or Northern Blue is a butterfly of the Lycaenidae family. It is found in the northerern regions of the Palearctic ecozone and the Nearctic ecozone.
Flies from June to August depending on location. Wingspan: 17 to 28 mm. The larvae feed on Calluna and Fabaceae species.

Info 2 0

Similar species: Moths And Butterflies

Species identified by travismorhardt