Art Shapiro's Butterfly Site
Monitoring butterfly populations across Central California for more than 35 years… Plebejus saepiolus
Common Name: Greenish Blue
Abundant on cool montane meadows, on our transect Lang Crossing and up (including Sierra Valley), where it flies just above the ground. The sexual dimorphism is extreme, and all our females are brown. High-altitude specimens may have the black spots beneath rather large and squarish. Adults visit low flowers, especially those of clovers, and males puddle. This species usually co-occurs with the Sonoran Skipper and the Nevada Cloudy-Wing and, often, with the Gray Blue. It has one brood, beginning early in the season (June to August, rarely later) and on our transect the host plants are native clovers (Trifolium) growing in damp to wet habitats.
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