Silvery Blue

Glaucopsyche lygdamus

The Silvery Blue is a small butterfly native to North America. Upperside is a light blue in males, a dull grayish blue in females. Underside is gray with single row of round spots of differing sizes depending upon region.

''G. lygdamus'' is found over much of the western United States and most of Canada extending north excepting most of Nunavut and the high Arctic islands. Wingspan is from 18 to 28 mm.
Silvery Blue Butterfly A Silvery Blue (Glaucopsyche lygdamus) butterfly showing his colour in the long grasses of an abandoned road at the Mer Bleue Conservation Area, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Ramsar site no. 755. Canada,Geotagged,Glaucopsyche lygdamus,Mer Bleue Conservation Area,Ontario,Ottawa,Ramsar wetland,Silvery Blue,Spring,butterfly

Naming

*Eastern Tailed-blue has small 'tails' on hindwings
⤷ Western Tailed-blue has small 'tails' on hindwings
⤷ Arrowhead Blue
⤷ Greenish Blue has two rows of small black spots on the underside of both wings
⤷ Boisduval's Blue has two rows of small black spots on the underside of both wings*''G. l. afra'' – Afra Blue
⤷ ''G. l. arizonensis'' McDunnough, 1934 – Arizona Silver Blue
⤷ ''G. l. australis'' – Southern Blue
⤷ ''G. l. columbia'' – Columbia Blue or Skinner's Blue
⤷ ''G. l. couperi'' Grote, 1873 – Couper's Silvery Blue
⤷ ''G. l. deserticola'' – Mojave Silvery Blue
⤷ ''G. l. incognitus'' Tilden, 1974 – Behr's Silvery Blue
⤷ ''G. l. jacki'' Stallings & Turner, 1947 – Jack's Blue
⤷ ''G. l. lygdamus'' – Silvery Blue
⤷ ''G. l. mildredae'' F. Chermock, 1944 – Mildred's Silvery Blue
⤷ ''G. l. minipunctum'' – Mini-spotted Silvery Blue
⤷ ''G. l. nittanyensis'' – Appalachian Silvery Blue
⤷ ''G. l. oro'' Scudder, 1876 – Oro Blue
⤷ ''G. l. palosverdesensis'' – Palos Verdes Blue
⤷ ''G. l. pseudoxerces'' – False Xerces Blue
⤷ ''G. l. sabulosa'' – Sand Dune Silvery Blue
⤷ †''G. l. xerces'' – Xerces Blue

References:

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Status: Least concern
EX EW CR EN VU NT LC
Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionArthropoda
ClassInsecta
OrderLepidoptera
FamilyLycaenidae
GenusGlaucopsyche
SpeciesG. lygamus