Pacific Dotted-Blue
Euphilotes enoptes (Boisduval, 1852)
Family: Lycaenidae
Subfamily: Polyommatinae
Identification: Geographically variable. Upperside of male is lilac blue with dark borders; female is brown usually with an orange patch on margin of hindwing. Underside of both sexes is off-white with black spots. Those of forewing larger and more squarish than those of hindwing. Orange band on hindwing usually broken into separate spots.
Wing Span: 3/4 - 7/8 inches (1.8 - 2.3 cm).
Life History: Dotted-Blues usually stay near their host plants. Males patrol around the host plants all day to find females. Eggs are laid singly on flowers or buds; caterpillars eat flowers and fruits and are tended by ants. Chrysalids hibernate in leaf litter.
Flight: One flight from mid-May to October depending on host and location.
Caterpillar Hosts: Various Eriogonum species including Nude Buckwheat, Wright\'s Buckwheat, Inflated Buckwheat, and others.
Adult Food: Flower nectar, especially from Eriogonum.
Habitat: Sun-exposed rocky or sandy flats or slopes in foothills, mountains, desert, and along coast.
Range: Scattered distribution throughout the western United States from Washington south through Pacific Coast states to northern Baja California. Also Nevada and northwest Arizona.
Conservation: Smith\'s dotted-blue, Euphilotes enoptes smithi, is endangered because its California coastal habitat is being damaged by increased human activity including housing developments, recreation, and sand mining. Its status in complicated because of the recent description of subspecies arenacola Emmel, Emmel, and Pratt for part of its distribution. Other subspecies from more interior locations may be threatened by invasion of exotic cheatgrass and the eventual fires that often result from such invasion.
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery. Smith\'s dotted-blue has The Nature Conservancy rank of T1,T2 - Imperiled because of rarity (6 to 20 occurrences), or because of other factors demonstrably making it very vulnerable to extinction throughout its range. (Endangered throughout its range). Other recently described subspecies have ranks of T1.
Management Needs: Conserve habitats for Smith\'s blue and maintain host plant populations. Determine conservation status of other subspecies.
Comments: NULL
Verified Sightings
Displaying 1 - 24 of 419 verified sightings
Observation date: Aug 23, 2020
Submitted by: ezeemonee
Region: Kern County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Aug 25, 2020
Observation date: Jul 29, 2020
Submitted by: Lisahug
Region: Modoc County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Aug 01, 2020
Observation date: Jul 05, 2020
Submitted by: ezeemonee
Region: California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Jul 06, 2020
Observation date: Jun 04, 2020
Submitted by: Lisahug
Region: Sonoma County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Jun 04, 2020
Observation date: Jun 01, 2020
Submitted by: sarabseth
Region: Marin County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Jun 02, 2020
Observation date: Jun 01, 2020
Submitted by: Lisahug
Region: Sonoma County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Jun 02, 2020
Observation date: Feb 29, 2020
Submitted by: Shearwater13
Region: San Bernardino County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Mar 03, 2020
Observation date: Jun 17, 2019
Submitted by: icosahedron
Region: Sonoma County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Dec 25, 2019
Observation date: Sep 07, 2019
Submitted by: falco1
Region: San Bernardino County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Nov 04, 2019
Observation date: Sep 07, 2019
Submitted by: falco1
Region: San Bernardino County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Nov 04, 2019
Observation date: Oct 18, 2019
Submitted by: storolaf
Region: San Diego County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Oct 20, 2019
Observation date: Sep 07, 2019
Submitted by: ezeemonee
Region: Kern County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Sep 09, 2019
Observation date: Sep 07, 2019
Submitted by: ezeemonee
Region: Kern County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Sep 09, 2019
Observation date: Jun 14, 2019
Submitted by: Lisahug
Region: Sonoma County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Jun 14, 2019
Observation date: May 29, 2019
Submitted by: Scott Burgess
Region: Trinity County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: May 30, 2019
Observation date: May 23, 2019
Submitted by: Scott Burgess
Region: Trinity County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: May 29, 2019
Observation date: Jun 16, 2018
Submitted by: Lisahug
Region: Mono County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Jun 25, 2018
Observation date: Jun 18, 2018
Submitted by: Lisahug
Region: Tuolumne County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Jun 25, 2018
Observation date: Jun 02, 2018
Submitted by: TomPeterson
Region: Santa Clara County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Jun 05, 2018
Observation date: Jun 22, 2017
Submitted by: Bdog
Region: San Bernardino County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Apr 22, 2018
Observation date: Oct 08, 2017
Submitted by: Robert Gorman
Region: Riverside County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Oct 09, 2017
Observation date: Oct 08, 2017
Submitted by: Robert Gorman
Region: Riverside County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Oct 09, 2017
Observation date: Jun 19, 2008
Submitted by: Lisahug
Region: Sonoma County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Sep 29, 2017
Observation date: Aug 20, 2017
Submitted by: Robert Gorman
Region: San Diego County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Aug 21, 2017
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