Icaricia icarioides explained

Icaricia icarioides,^[1] or Boisduval's blue, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae found in North America. This butterfly has 25 recognized subspecies.^[2]

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 (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);^[2] 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.^[3]

Larvae feed on species of lupines (Lupinus). Adults feed on nectar from flowers of Eriogonum species and other composites.

Wingspan: 21 to 32 mm.^[4]

Similar species

• Greenish blue (Icaricia saepiolus)
• Silvery blue (Glaucopsyche lygdamus)

Subspecies

• Icaricia icarioides albihalos^[5]
• Icaricia icarioides argusmontana^[6]
• Icaricia icarioides atascadero^[7]
• Icaricia icarioides austinorum^[8]
• Icaricia icarioides blackmorei – Puget blue^[9]
• Icaricia icarioides buchholzi^[10]
• Icaricia icarioides eosierra^[11]
• Icaricia icarioides evius^[12]
• Icaricia icarioides fenderi – Fender's blue^[13]
• Icaricia icarioides fulla^[14]
• Icaricia icarioides helios^[15]
• Icaricia icarioides icarioides^[16]
• Icaricia icarioides inyo^[17]
• Icaricia icarioides lycea^[18]
• Icaricia icarioides missionensis – Mission blue^[19]
• Icaricia icarioides montis^[20]
• Icaricia icarioides moroensis^[21]
• Icaricia icarioides nigrafem
• Icaricia icarioides panamintina^[22]
• Icaricia icarioides parapheres^[23]
• Icaricia icarioides pardalis^[24]
• Icaricia icarioides pembina^[25]
• Icaricia icarioides pheres (extinct)†^[26]
• Icaricia icarioides sacre
• Icaricia icarioides santana^[27]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Savela . Markku . Icaricia icarioides . Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms . August 2, 2019.
2. Web site: A Catalogue of the Butterflies of the United States and Canada by Jonathan P. Pelham. butterfliesofamerica.com. 2019-06-19.
3. Web site: Icaricia icarioides. explorer.natureserve.org.
4. http://www.cbif.gc.ca/spp_pages/butterflies/species/Boisduval'sBlue_e.php Boisduval's Blue
5. Web site: Plebejus icarioides albihalos thumbnails. 2019-06-19. butterfliesofamerica.com. en.
6. Web site: Plebejus icarioides argusmontana thumbnails. 2019-06-19. butterfliesofamerica.com. en.
7. Web site: Plebejus icarioides atascadero thumbnails. butterfliesofamerica.com. en. 2019-06-19.
8. Web site: Plebejus icarioides austinorum thumbnails. 2019-06-19. butterfliesofamerica.com. en.
9. Web site: Plebejus icarioides blackmorei thumbnails. butterfliesofamerica.com. en. 2019-06-19.
10. Web site: Plebejus icarioides buchholzi thumbnails. 2019-06-19. butterfliesofamerica.com. en.
11. Web site: BoA 404 Not Found. 2019-06-19. butterfliesofamerica.com.
12. Web site: Plebejus icarioides evius thumbnails. butterfliesofamerica.com. en. 2019-06-19.
13. Web site: Plebejus icarioides fenderi thumbnails. butterfliesofamerica.com. en. 2019-06-19.
14. Web site: Plebejus icarioides fulla thumbnails. 2019-06-19. butterfliesofamerica.com. en.
15. Web site: Plebejus icarioides helios thumbnails. 2019-06-19. butterfliesofamerica.com. en.
16. Web site: Plebejus i icarioides thumbnails. 2019-06-19. butterfliesofamerica.com. en.
17. Web site: Plebejus icarioides inyo thumbnails. 2019-06-19. butterfliesofamerica.com. en.
18. Web site: Plebejus icarioides lycea thumbnails. 2019-06-19. butterfliesofamerica.com. en.
19. Web site: Plebejus icarioides missionensis thumbnails. butterfliesofamerica.com. en. 2019-06-19.
20. Web site: Plebejus icarioides montis thumbnails. 2019-06-19. butterfliesofamerica.com. en.
21. Web site: Plebejus icarioides moroensis thumbnails. butterfliesofamerica.com. en. 2019-06-19.
22. Web site: Plebejus icarioides panamintina thumbnails. 2019-06-19. butterfliesofamerica.com. en.
23. Web site: Plebejus icarioides parapheres thumbnails. 2019-06-19. butterfliesofamerica.com. en.
24. Web site: Plebejus icarioides pardalis thumbnails. butterfliesofamerica.com. en. 2019-06-19.
25. Web site: Plebejus icarioides pembina thumbnails. 2019-06-19. butterfliesofamerica.com. en.
26. Web site: Plebejus icarioides pheres thumbnails. butterfliesofamerica.com. en. 2019-06-19.
27. Web site: Plebejus icarioides santana thumbnails. butterfliesofamerica.com. en. 2019-06-19.