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 7 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 7 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 7 years ago

Ferdy Christant

Lion

Love the ends of its wings, such jewels. Posted 7 years ago
1. travismorhardt
  
  Lion
  
  I love blues! Aside from being a pain to identify, they are beautiful. Posted 7 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