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
Get your 2023 BAMONA Gear!
Please donate!
We depend on donations to keep Butterflies and Moths of North America freely available. We want to express our gratitude to all who showed their support by making a contribution this year. You can donate to support this project at any time.
Advertise with us!
Do you have a product or service that you think would interest BAMONA users? If you would like to advertise on this website, contact us by email, or use the contact form and select the "Advertising" category.
Verified Sightings
Displaying 49 - 72 of 447 verified sightings

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

Observation date: Sep 01, 2016
Submitted by: Bdog
Region: San Diego County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Sep 20, 2016

Observation date: Aug 11, 2016
Submitted by: Bdog
Region: San Diego County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Aug 12, 2016

Observation date: Jul 30, 2016
Submitted by: TPeterson
Region: Mono County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Aug 12, 2016

Observation date: May 26, 2016
Submitted by: Bdog
Region: Riverside County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: May 28, 2016

Observation date: Jun 26, 2015
Submitted by: TPeterson
Region: Lassen County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Aug 15, 2015

Observation date: Jul 04, 2014
Submitted by: MAKI
Region: Del Norte County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Jul 20, 2014

Observation date: Oct 04, 1977
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (George T. Austin)
Region: Clark County, Nevada, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Verified date: Dec 01, 2012

Observation date: Sep 22, 1978
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (George T. Austin)
Region: Clark County, Nevada, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Verified date: Dec 01, 2012

Observation date: Sep 26, 1978
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (George T. Austin)
Region: Clark County, Nevada, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Verified date: Dec 01, 2012

Observation date: Sep 26, 1978
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (George T. Austin)
Region: Clark County, Nevada, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Verified date: Dec 01, 2012

Observation date: Sep 13, 1978
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (George T. Austin)
Region: Clark County, Nevada, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Verified date: Dec 01, 2012

Observation date: Sep 13, 1978
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (unknown)
Region: Clark County, Nevada, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Verified date: Dec 01, 2012

Observation date: Sep 26, 1978
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (George T. Austin)
Region: Clark County, Nevada, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Verified date: Dec 01, 2012

Observation date: Sep 19, 1978
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (George T. Austin)
Region: Clark County, Nevada, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Verified date: Dec 01, 2012

Observation date: Sep 20, 1978
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (George T. Austin)
Region: Clark County, Nevada, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Verified date: Dec 01, 2012

Observation date: May 11, 1994
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (John B. Vernon)
Region: Esmeralda County, Nevada, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012

Observation date: May 06, 2012
Submitted by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Region: Inyo County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012

Observation date: Sep 02, 1975
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (Ron Wielgus)
Region: Maricopa County, Arizona, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Verified date: Jan 01, 2012

Observation date: Jun 01, 2000
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (John Lane)
Region: Plumas County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Verified date: May 01, 2011

Observation date: Sep 10, 1969
Submitted by: legacy.reporter (unknown)
Region: Riverside County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport (Ken Davenport)
Verified date: May 01, 2011
- ‹ previous
- 3 of 19
- next ›