Aricia shasta
Encyclopedia
The Shasta Blue is a butterfly of the Lycaenidae
family. It is found from northwestern United States
to southern Saskatchewan
and Alberta
.
The wingspan
is 20–22 mm. Adults are on wing from June to August.
The larvae feed on Lupinus lyalli, Astragalus spatulatus, Astragalus calycosus, and Trifolium dasphyllum.
Lycaenidae
The Lycaenidae are the second-largest family of butterflies, with about 6000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies...
family. It is found from northwestern United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to southern Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
and Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
.
The wingspan
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
is 20–22 mm. Adults are on wing from June to August.
The larvae feed on Lupinus lyalli, Astragalus spatulatus, Astragalus calycosus, and Trifolium dasphyllum.
Subspecies
- A. s. shasta W.H. Edwards, 1862
- A. s. minnehaha Scudder, 1875
- A. s. pitkinensis Ferris, 1976
External links
- Shasta Blue, Butterflies and Moths of North America