Attributes of Plebejus melissa
Melissa Blue (includes Karner Blue)
Plebejus melissa (W.H. Edwards, 1873)
Family: Lycaenidae
Subfamily: Polyommatinae
Identification: Upperside of male blue with narrow dark border; female brown with blue tinge. Underside with continuous black line along outer margin of both wings. Red-orange submarginal row is continuous in subspecies melissa and divided into separate spots in subspecies samuelis (Karner Blue).
Wing Span: 7/8 - 1 3/8 inches (2.2 - 3.5 cm).
Life History: Males patrol near host plants for females. Eggs are laid on assorted parts of the host plant or on nearby debris. Caterpillars eat young leaves and are tended by ants who feed on the caterpillars' sugary secretions.
Flight: Two broods from May-August for the Karner Blue (subspecies samuelis) in the East; three broods from April-October for subspecies melissa in the West.
Caterpillar Hosts: Lupine (Lupinus perennis) for the Karner Blue. The western population feeds on various legumes of the pea family including Astragalus, Glycyrrhiza, Lotus, Lupinus, and Medicago species.
Adult Food:
Habitat: Karner Blue (subspecies samuelis) inhabits sandy pine prairies, barrens, and lakeshore dunes in the east. Subspecies melissa is found in the west in open, weedy areas and prairies.
Range: The small, isolated colonies of the Eastern population (subspecies samuelis) occur from southern New Hampshire and central New York west to Wisconsin. The western population (subspecies melissa) is found in the Intermountain West from Canada to Baja California, plains, and prairies east to northwestern Iowa and southwestern Minnesota.
Conservation: The Karner Blue is eradicated or endangered in several states and has The Nature Conservancy rank of 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).
NCGR:
Management Needs: Proper management is needed for Karner Blue habitats.
Taxonomy Notes:
Images of Plebejus melissa
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The map below displays all verified sighting records in the BAMONA database for this species. Each record is indicated with a yellow dot. The orange dots on the map provide access to information about the 400 most recently verified sightings of this species. In some instances, there are several records at the same location. Use the table view to access these records.
Instructions: Click on the map and move your mouse to pan.
Zoom by using the plus [+] and minus [-] on the left side of the map.
To change which map layers are displayed, click on the plus sign [+] on the right side of the map.
By default, the fifty most recently verified sightings are below. Sort by Observation Date to see the most recent sightings, or filter the sightings by region to get a regional list.
| Observation Date | Submitter | Region |
Verified Date |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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May 27, 2013 | stormyeyes99 | Albany County, New York, United States | May 29, 2013 | Details |
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September 23, 2012 | Brett Budach | Riley County, Kansas, United States | April 05, 2013 | Details |
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August 10, 2011 | Tommie Rogers | Davis County, Utah, United States | December 20, 2012 | Details |
| July 09, 1982 | legacy.reporter (K Hansen-S. Mattoon) | Lander County, Nevada, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| April 20, 1986 | legacy.reporter (George T. Austin) | Clark County, Nevada, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| November 07, 1988 | legacy.reporter (George T. Austin) | Clark County, Nevada, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| June 22, 1996 | legacy.reporter (Robert L. Langston) | Elko County, Nevada, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| August 30, 1999 | legacy.reporter (John B. Vernon) | Pershing County, Nevada, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| September 04, 1966 | legacy.reporter (Anna Austin) | Clark County, Nevada, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| September 04, 1966 | legacy.reporter (Anna Austin) | Clark County, Nevada, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| October 16, 1977 | legacy.reporter (George T. Austin) | Clark County, Nevada, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| October 23, 1977 | legacy.reporter (George T. Austin) | Clark County, Nevada, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| September 29, 1966 | legacy.reporter (Anna Austin) | Clark County, Nevada, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| October 10, 1964 | legacy.reporter (Peter Herlan) | Clark County, Nevada, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
| October 26, 2004 | legacy.reporter (Alex Grkovich) | Clark County, Nevada, United States | December 01, 2012 | Details | |
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August 05, 2010 | Tommie Rogers | Nebraska, United States | November 23, 2012 | Details |
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July 17, 2012 | rjadams | Cascade County, Montana, United States | October 12, 2012 | Details |
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September 25, 2012 | ChaosPoppy | San Juan County, New Mexico, United States | October 01, 2012 | Details |
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July 14, 2012 | swimperi | Arapahoe County, Colorado, United States | August 18, 2012 | Details |
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August 16, 2011 | chuckcmt | Valley County, Montana, United States | July 25, 2012 | Details |
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June 22, 2012 | Glenn Marangelo | Granite County, Montana, United States | July 25, 2012 | Details |
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July 12, 2008 | hjbarkey9 | Park County, Colorado, United States | July 21, 2012 | Details |
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June 23, 2008 | hjbarkey9 | Routt County, Colorado, United States | May 14, 2012 | Details |
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June 23, 2008 | hjbarkey9 | Routt County, Colorado, United States | May 14, 2012 | Details |
| June 22, 1996 | legacy.reporter (Robert L. Langston) | Elko County, Nevada, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details | |
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July 21, 2011 | Nancy Lea Sandy | Natrona County, Wyoming, United States | December 17, 2011 | Details |
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August 10, 2011 | Tommie Rogers | Weber County, Utah, United States | December 07, 2011 | Details |
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June 22, 2011 | J_Martineau | Campbell County, Wyoming, United States | November 28, 2011 | Details |
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June 24, 2009 | RaisingButterflies.org | Utah County, Utah, United States | November 28, 2011 | Details |
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August 12, 2011 | jim8435wisc | Jackson County, Wisconsin, United States | November 25, 2011 | Details |
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May 30, 2009 | Doug Taron | Lake County, Indiana, United States | November 05, 2011 | Details |
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July 09, 2011 | Joe Schelling--entered by M ODonnell | Bernalillo County, New Mexico, United States | September 26, 2011 | Details |
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August 16, 2011 | Matt ODonnell | Valencia County, New Mexico, United States | September 08, 2011 | Details |
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August 16, 2011 | Matt ODonnell | Valencia County, New Mexico, United States | September 08, 2011 | Details |
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August 26, 2011 | Matt ODonnell | Valencia County, New Mexico, United States | August 29, 2011 | Details |
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August 24, 2011 | Jdammarell | Lincoln County, Washington, United States | August 26, 2011 | Details |
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August 11, 2011 | plex1ppus | Spokane County, Washington, United States | August 22, 2011 | Details |
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August 17, 2011 | Jdammarell | Lincoln County, Washington, United States | August 19, 2011 | Details |
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July 03, 2011 | rhedden | Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, United States | August 07, 2011 | Details |
| June 17, 2011 | davidwdroppers | Okanogan County, Washington, United States | June 24, 2011 | Details | |
| June 11, 1972 | legacy.reporter (Jim Brock) | Los Angeles County, California, United States | May 01, 2011 | Details | |
| June 20, 1929 | legacy.reporter (unknown) | Inyo County, California, United States | May 01, 2011 | Details | |
| July 19, 1966 | legacy.reporter (unknown) | Inyo County, California, United States | May 01, 2011 | Details | |
| June 22, 1937 | legacy.reporter (unknown) | Inyo County, California, United States | May 01, 2011 | Details | |
| June 16, 1935 | legacy.reporter (F. Chermock) | Los Angeles County, California, United States | May 01, 2011 | Details | |
| July 04, 1934 | legacy.reporter (unknown) | Kern County, California, United States | May 01, 2011 | Details | |
| August 10, 1937 | legacy.reporter (unknown) | Ventura County, California, United States | May 01, 2011 | Details | |
| October 08, 1978 | legacy.reporter (unknown) | San Diego County, California, United States | May 01, 2011 | Details | |
| April 27, 2004 | legacy.reporter (William Bouton) | Kern County, California, United States | May 01, 2011 | Details | |
| July 23, 2005 | legacy.reporter (Kojiro Shiraiwa) | San Diego County, California, United States | May 01, 2011 | Details |
