''Echinargus isola'', or Reakirt's blue, is a
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 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 butterfl ...
. It is the sole representative of the
monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
''Echinargus''.
It is found in Central America and the extreme southern U.S. ''Echinargus isola'' migrates regularly throughout most of the U.S. almost to the
Canada–United States border
The border between Canada and the United States is the longest international border in the world. The terrestrial boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Can ...
, and very rarely into the southern prairies.
[
The ]wingspan
The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...
is 16–23 mm. Adults are on wing from June to October in the north and year round in south.[Reakirt's Blue]
Butterflies of Canada Its habitats include fields, gardens, open areas, and host plants.Prosopis
''Prosopis'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. It contains around 45 species of spiny trees and shrubs found in subtropical and tropical regions of the Americas, Africa, Western Asia, and South Asia. They often thrive in ari ...
'' species).[ Adults feed on flower nectar from spearmint, white sweet clover, and a variety of other herbs.]
Subspecies
*''Echinargus isola isola''
*''Echinargus isola alce'' (Edwards, 1871) (Colorado)
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q13602601
Polyommatini
Butterflies of North America
Butterflies described in 1866
Taxa named by Tryon Reakirt
Butterflies of Central America