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.
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The fifty most recently verified sightings are below. See more recently verified sightings of all species.
| Observation Date | Submitter | Region |
Verified Date |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Sussex County, New Jersey, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Mohave County, Arizona, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Coconino County, Arizona, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Coconino County, Arizona, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Navajo County, Arizona, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Apache County, Arizona, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Apache County, Arizona, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Yavapai County, Arizona, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Maricopa County, Arizona, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Gila County, Arizona, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Graham County, Arizona, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Greenlee County, Arizona, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Siskiyou County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Modoc County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Shasta County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Lassen County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Tehama County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Plumas County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Sierra County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Nevada County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | El Dorado County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Amador County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Alpine County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Mono County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Tuolumne County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Mariposa County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | San Mateo County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Monterey County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Kings County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Tulare County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Inyo County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Kern County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Ventura County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Los Angeles County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Orange County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Riverside County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | San Diego County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Placer County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Trinity County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Moffat County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Rio Blanco County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Garfield County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Mesa County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Montrose County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | San Miguel County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Dolores County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Montezuma County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | La Plata County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details |
