The Sand Mountain blue (''Euphilotes pallescens arenamontana'') is a

lycaenid Lycaenidae is the second-largest family of butterflies (behind Nymphalidae, brush-footed butterflies), with over 6,000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies. They constitute about 30% of the known butterfl ...

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

of the "blue" subfamily that is only found around the

Sand Mountain Recreation Area Sand Mountain is a singing sand dune east of Fallon, Nevada along U.S. Route 50. The dune is two miles long and high. The sand originates from the ancient Lake Lahontan, that for the most part dried up 9,000 years ago. Sand Mountain Recreat ...

near

Fallon, Nevada Fallon is a city in Churchill County in the U.S. state of Nevada. The population was 9,327 at time of the 2020 census. Fallon is the county seat of Churchill County and is located in the Lahontan Valley. History The community was first populate ...

. It is a

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

of the pallid blue (''Euphilotes pallescens'').

Biological characteristics

These butterflies are known for their almost complete dependence upon Kearney buckwheat; eating the fallen leaves of the plant as

larvae A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

, and drinking the

nectar Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists ...

of the flowers as adults - however, the adults occasionally feed on other plant species. Like many gossamer-winged butterflies, Sand Mountain blues have a close relationship with

ant Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of 22 ...

s; in this case, desert

carpenter ant Carpenter ants (''Camponotus'' spp.) are large () ants indigenous to many forested parts of the world. They build nests inside wood consisting of galleries chewed out with their mandibles or jaws, preferably in dead, damp wood. However, unlik ...

s feed on a

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...

y secretion of the larvae; whether the larvae also benefit or not is yet to be determined. Once the larvae

metamorphose Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation. Some insec ...

into the

pupa A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...

l stage, rather than remaining fixed to buckwheat plant, the

chrysalis A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...

drops into the

leaf litter Plant litter (also leaf litter, tree litter, soil litter, litterfall or duff) is dead plant material (such as leaves, bark, needles, twigs, and cladodes) that have fallen to the ground. This detritus or dead organic material and its constituent ...

at the base. Upon reaching adulthood, ''E. pallescens arenamontana'' typically measure anywhere between and . The subspecies is not known to

migrate Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

, and stays within of its host plant. The lifespan of an adult Sand Mountain blue is approximately one week.

Status

The species to which the Sand Mountain blue belongs, ''

Euphilotes pallescens ''Euphilotes pallescens'', the pale blue, pallid blue or pallid dotted blue, is a species of butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in the United States in southeastern California, Nevada, southern Utah and northern Arizona. The wingsp ...

'', has been officially classified as vulnerable, while the subspecies ''E. p. arenamontana'' itself has been labeled as critically imperiled, at great risk of extinction. In 2004 a

petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to some offici ...

was filed to investigate the

status Status (Latin plural: ''statūs''), is a state, condition, or situation, and may refer to: * Status (law) ** City status ** Legal status, in law ** Political status, in international law ** Small entity status, in patent law ** Status conference ...

of the Sand Mountain blue and whether it should be placed on the

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...

threatened species Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensa ...

lists. Currently Sand Mountain blues are referred to as " rare" because of their small geographical distribution around the Sand Mountain

dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...

. In March 2007, several

off-road vehicle An off-road vehicle, sometimes referred to as an overland or adventure vehicle, is considered to be any type of vehicle which is capable of driving on and off paved or gravel surface. It is generally characterized by having large tires with dee ...

trails were closed off in order to protect the subspecies and its host plant from intrusion.

References

External links

Fish and Wildlife Association
* pallescens, arenamontana Butterflies described in 1998 Butterflies of North America Fauna of the Western United States Butterfly subspecies {{Polyommatini-stub