''Icaricia icarioides'', or Boisduval's blue, is a butterfly of the family

Lycaenidae 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 butterf ...

found in North America. This butterfly has 25 recognized subspecies. This species has been classified in at least four different genera since it was named by Jean Baptiste Boisduval in 1852. It started out in ''Lycaena'', was transferred to ''Icaricia'' by

Nabokov Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov (russian: link=no, Владимир Владимирович Набоков ; 2 July 1977), also known by the pen name Vladimir Sirin (), was a Russian-American novelist, poet, translator, and entomologist. Bo ...

(Hodges ''et al''., 1983), moved to ''Aricia'' by Bálint and Johnson (1997), merged with some other genera in the supergenus ''Plebejus'' by Gorbunov (2001), which was accepted by Opler & Warren (2003) and Pelham's Catalogue (as of 2012); however, Lamas (2004) among others use ''Aricia''. More recently, it was moved back to the genus ''Icaricia'', which was reinstated as a result of molecular studies (Vila ''et al''., 2011; Talavera ''et al''., 2013). Synonymy, subgenera, and subspecies vary considerably depending on the author. Their range extends throughout the western US and Canada from southern Saskatchewan to British Columbia. Its habitats include dunes, mountains, meadows, streams, and sage-lands. It is also found in open areas or openings in woods near its larval host. Larvae feed on species of lupines (''

Lupinus ''Lupinus'', commonly known as lupin, lupine, or regionally bluebonnet etc., is a genus of plants in the legume family Fabaceae. The genus includes over 199 species, with centers of diversity in North and South America. Smaller centers occur ...

''). Adults feed on nectar from flowers of ''

Eriogonum ''Eriogonum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Polygonaceae. The genus is found in North America and is known as wild buckwheat. This is a highly species-rich genus, and indications are that active speciation is continuing. It incl ...

'' species and other composites. Wingspan: 21 to 32 mm.Boisduval's Blue
Butterflies of Canada

Silvery blue ''Glaucopsyche lygdamus'', the silvery blue, is a small butterfly native to North America. Its upperside is a light blue in males and a dull grayish blue in females. The underside is gray with a single row of round spots of differing sizes depen ...

('' Glaucopsyche lygdamus'')

Subspecies

*''Icaricia icarioides albihalos'' *''Icaricia icarioides argusmontana'' *''Icaricia icarioides atascadero'' *''Icaricia icarioides austinorum'' *''

Icaricia icarioides blackmorei ''Icaricia icarioides blackmorei'', the Puget blue, is a butterfly native to the Puget Sound area in the northwestern U.S. state of Washington. It is a subspecies of Boisduval's blue (''Icaricia icarioides''). Description The Puget blue is a s ...

'' - Puget blue *''Icaricia icarioides buchholzi'' *''Icaricia icarioides eosierra'' *''Icaricia icarioides evius'' *''

Icaricia icarioides fenderi Fender's blue butterfly (''Icaricia icarioides fenderi'') is an endangered subspecies of Boisduval's blue (''Icaricia icarioides)'' endemic to the Willamette Valley of northwestern Oregon, United States. Thpotential rangeof the butterfly extend ...

'' – Fender's blue *''Icaricia icarioides fulla'' *''Icaricia icarioides helios'' *''Icaricia icarioides icarioides'' *''Icaricia icarioides inyo'' *''Icaricia icarioides lycea'' *''

Icaricia icarioides missionensis The Mission blue (''Icaricia icarioides missionensis'') is a blue or lycaenid butterfly subspecies native to the San Francisco Bay Area of the United States. The butterfly has been declared as endangered by the US federal government. It is a su ...

'' – Mission blue *''Icaricia icarioides montis'' *''Icaricia icarioides moroensis'' *''Icaricia icarioides nigrafem'' *''Icaricia icarioides panamintina'' *''Icaricia icarioides parapheres'' *''Icaricia icarioides pardalis'' *''Icaricia icarioides pembina'' *''Icaricia icarioides pheres (extinct)'' *''Icaricia icarioides sacre'' *''Icaricia icarioides santana''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2861234, from2=Q27997941 Icaricia Butterflies of North America Fauna of the Western United States Butterflies described in 1852 Taxa named by Jean Baptiste Boisduval

Similar species

Subspecies

References