Bluff Lake, near Big Bear, California. © Peter J. Bryant.

Reakirt's Blue

Echinargus isola

Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae


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Bluff Lake, near Big Bear, California. © Peter J. Bryant.

Bluff Lake, near Big Bear, California. © Peter J. Bryant.

San Joaquin Freshwater Marsh, Irvine, Orange County, CA. 6-23-08. © Ron Hemberger

San Joaquin Freshwater Marsh, Irvine, Orange County, CA. 6-23-08. © Ron Hemberger

Characteristics: Ventral wing pattern is similar to that of Leptotes marina or Hemiargus ceraunus gyas but with a distinct vertical row of black spots on the ventral forewing. Male--violet-blue on dorsal wing; female--brown with some blue scaling near the body on dorsal wing. One of our smaller lycaenids. Forewing length: 9-13 mm.

Distribution: Not rare in our deserts near its larval foodplant. Strangely, it also sporadically occurs in coastal areas far from any stands of mesquite. There are three known records for Orange County, which may be strays.

Flight Period: Emmel and Emmel (1973) list April to October as the flight season for southern California populations .

Larval Foodplants: Listed by Ehrlich and Ehrlich (1961) as Prosopis spp. (mesquite). The butterfly may utilize additional plant species which would account for its occurrence in areas where mesquite does not occur. These foodplants, however, have not yet been identified.

Other Remarks: A rare capture in Orange County. I know only of the above records.

From Orsak, L. J. (1977). The Butterflies of Orange County, California. Center for Pathobiology Miscellaneous Publication #3. University of California Press, New York. 349pp.

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