Observation date: April 29, 2026
Submitted by: hranson
Specimen type: Photograph
Observation notes: Mark Bright and I went to the spine of the Santa Ynez Mountains (Santa Barbara County) with the hope of seeing Clemence's Blue. We walked on the north side of Gibraltar Road and didn't find any Icaricia butterflies until we came across some large patches of California Buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum) that were in bloom. There we found at least 15 Icaricia blues, and we felt the majority were most likely Clemence's. We based this upon:
* Size. We are familiar with Acmon and these were noticeably larger. The two or three we felt were likely Acmon were smaller, had a much narrower orange upperside band without a dark border, and were feeding on Golden Yarrow.
* Proximity to host plant, buckwheat. We found a mating pair on buckwheat, and these were "mobbed" by 2 or 3 other blues, making quite a spectacle (see photos). All the putayive Clemence's we saw were associating with buckwheat.
*Time of year--this is when one would expect single-brooded Clemence's to be present.
* Coloration: Most of the putative Clemence's seemed vividly colored and "contrasty", even the females. Some of the females were quite blue above. The orange band on the upperside of the wings was a vibrant orange without a hint of pink. This band was consistently broad, much more so than I would expect on Acmon. This band was often bordered on the top side with a dark line.
Status: Resident
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: May 02, 2026
Coordinator notes: Yes, I found monticola common in Santa Barbara County in mostly lower Bates Canyon common ly on April 7th, with acmon also common. They also started flying early in the Kern River drainage in the Sierra Nevada on April 4th.-Ken Davenport
