Western Square-dotted Blue
Euphilotes battoides (Behr, 1867)
Family: Lycaenidae
Subfamily: Polyommatinae
Identification: Extremely variable geographically. Upperside of female brown often with orange band on outer edge of hindwing. Male blue with dark borders. Male may have orange band on outer edge of hindwing. Underside is off-white to gray with black postmedian spots ranging from square to round and from large to small, again depending on subspecies. Best identified by associated host, locality, and season.
Wing Span: 11/16 - 13/16 inches (1.6 - 1.7 cm).
Life History: Males patrol all day near host plants to find receptive females. Eggs are laid singly on host plant flowers; caterpillars eat flowers and fruits, and are protected by ants. Chrysalids hibernate in sand or leaf litter.
Flight: One flight; Mid-April to August depending on location and host bloom.
Caterpillar Hosts: Various wild buckwheats (Eriogonum species) including coastal buckwheat and sulphur-flower.
Adult Food: Flower nectar especially that from Eriogonum species.
Habitat: Varies by subspecies; includes, prairie, open woodlands, chaparral, dunes, and alpine rock gardens.
Range: Spotty distribution from Washington south to Baja California Norte, thence west to southern Colorado and New Mexico.
Conservation: Most populations are probably secure, but invasive alien weeds such as cheatgrass may threaten an unknown proportion.
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery. The Comstock's Blue (subspecies comstocki), and an unnamed subspecies all have The Nature Conservancy rank of T1 - Critically imperiled because of extreme rarity (5 or fewer occurrences, or very few remaining individuals), or because of some factor of its biology making it especially vulnerable to extinction. (Critically endangered throughout its range).
Management Needs: Maintain habitat together with host plants of all known populations.
Comments: NULL
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Verified Sightings
Displaying 1 - 24 of 246 verified sightings
Observation date: May 23, 2020
Submitted by: Heidiho
Region: British Columbia, Canada
Verified by: Paul Prappas
Verified date: Sep 10, 2022
Observation date: Aug 13, 2022
Submitted by: tjay13
Region: Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Aug 18, 2022
Observation date: Jul 22, 2022
Submitted by: Rozelle Wright
Region: Los Alamos County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Jul 25, 2022
Observation date: Jul 06, 2022
Submitted by: twofried
Region: Taos County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Jul 10, 2022
Observation date: Aug 08, 2021
Submitted by: stevecary
Region: Harding County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Mar 12, 2022
Observation date: Jul 21, 2021
Submitted by: Joshua C
Region: Bernalillo County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Oct 03, 2021
Observation date: Jul 26, 2021
Submitted by: joeschelling
Region: Bernalillo County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Jul 28, 2021
Observation date: Jul 23, 2021
Submitted by: rebeccagracey
Region: Sandoval County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Jul 28, 2021
Observation date: Jul 23, 2021
Submitted by: DeepSkyKelly
Region: Colfax County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Jul 28, 2021
Observation date: Jul 17, 2021
Submitted by: twofried
Region: Taos County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Jul 24, 2021
Observation date: Jul 01, 2021
Submitted by: twofried
Region: Taos County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Jul 11, 2021
Observation date: Jun 29, 2020
Submitted by: stevecary
Region: Colfax County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Nov 12, 2020
Observation date: Jul 31, 2020
Submitted by: DeepSkyKelly
Region: Colfax County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Aug 04, 2020
Observation date: Jul 27, 2020
Submitted by: DeepSkyKelly
Region: Union County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Jul 28, 2020
Observation date: Jul 12, 2020
Submitted by: Gary Nordell
Region: Siskiyou County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Jul 20, 2020
Observation date: Jun 26, 2020
Submitted by: joeschelling
Region: Colfax County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Jul 05, 2020
Observation date: Jun 26, 2020
Submitted by: joeschelling
Region: Colfax County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Jul 05, 2020
Observation date: Aug 20, 2019
Submitted by: stevecary
Region: Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Jan 31, 2020
Observation date: Jul 27, 2019
Submitted by: Cactuswren1976
Region: Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Aug 01, 2019
Observation date: Jun 16, 2019
Submitted by: B. Newhouse
Region: Lane County, Oregon, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Jun 20, 2019
Observation date: May 07, 2018
Submitted by: kwosilait
Region: Yakima County, Washington, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Jun 16, 2018
Observation date: May 23, 2018
Submitted by: hiker96
Region: Yakima County, Washington, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: May 31, 2018
Observation date: Jun 07, 2017
Submitted by: Glenn Marangelo
Region: Missoula County, Montana, United States
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: Jun 29, 2017
Observation date: Jun 04, 2017
Submitted by: diwalks2@gmail.com
Region: Los Angeles County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Jun 07, 2017
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