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Cupido amyntula

(Western Tailed Blue)

Overview

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Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Common Names in English:

Western Tailed Blue, Western Tailed-Blue

Description

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Family Lycaenidae

'The Lycaenidae are members of the Superfamily Papilionoidea, the true butterflies. Worldwide in distribution, this family has approximately 4,700 species that are unevenly distributed. Coppers are especially dominant in north temperate regions , blues are richest in the Old World tropics and north temperate zones, and hairstreaks are particularly abundant in New World tropics. The adults are typically small to tiny and often brilliantly colored--iridescent blues, bright reds, and oranges. Adults of both sexes have three pairs of walking legs , though most males have fused segments in their front legs. Most adults visit flowers for nectar, but some harvesters feed on wooly aphid honeydew and some hairstreaks feed on aphid honeydew or bird droppings. Females lay single, sea urchin shaped eggs on host leaves or flower buds; the resulting caterpillars are typically slug-shaped. In many species, caterpillars depend on ants for protection, so caterpillars produce sugary secretions that are collected by the ants. Most species overwinter in either the egg or pupal stage.

'[1]

Subfamily Polyommatinae

Blues are tiny to small butterflies of the Family Lycaenidae. Distributed worldwide, they are most diverse in Southeast Asia, tropical Africa, and northern temperate regions . Most of the nearly 50 North American species are found in the west. Adult males are predominantly blue above, due to reflected light rather than pigmentation . Some males and most females are largely brown above. Below, wings of both sexes are usually gray-white with black spots or streaks. Adults in some genera (Euphilotes, Lycaeides, Plebulina, and Icaricia) have more or less prominent orange submarginal bands on their hindwings . Most adults are found near their host plants , and they do not fly long distances , though some tropical and subtropical species undertake long migrations. Adults visit flowers for nectar. Males frequent moist sand and mud , and females lay eggs singly on host plant leaves or flowers. As caterpillars, they secrete sugary secretions that attract ants , and caterpillars of some species are raised in ant nests. Blues usually overwinter in the pupal stage.[2]

Physical Description

Species Cupido amyntula

Narrow tail on hindwing . Upperside of male blue, female brown with blue at wing base . Underside white with black spots indistinct or lacking; single small orange spot near tail. (ref. 105745)

Color:

Narrow tail on hindwing . Upperside of male blue, female brown with blue at wing base . Underside white with black spots indistinct or lacking; single small orange spot near tail.

Size/Age/Growth

Wing span : 7/8 - 1 1/8 inches (2.2 - 2.9 cm).

Habitat

Open - usually native - areas with low shrubs including chaparral , meadows, and open woodland.

Biology

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Diet

Caterpillar hosts: Legumes with inflated pods including false lupine (Thermopsis), milkvetch (Astragalus), crazyweed (Oxytropis), and vetches (Vicia and Lathyrus). Adult food: Flower nectar.

Reproduction

Males patrol and perch during the day. Females lay eggs on flowers or young seedpods of host plant. Caterpillars eat young seeds inside the pod, where they overwinter and pupate.

Behavior

Flight: March-July. Several broods in southern California, a partial second brood in the southern Rocky Mountains, and one brood elsewhere.

Taxonomy

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Similar Species

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Members of the genus Cupido

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 8 species and subspecies in this genus:

C. amyntula (Western Tailed Blue) · C. amyntula albrighti (Albright's Tailed-Blue) · C. amyntula montanorum (Western Tailed-Blue) · C. amyntula nesiotes (Western Tailed-Blue) · C. comyntas (Eastern Tailed Blue) · C. comyntas comyntas (Eastern Tailed-Blue) · C. minimus (Little Blue) · C. minimus minimus (Little Blue)

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/taxonomy?f=16&sci=Lycaenidae&com=Gossamer-wing Butterflies [back]
  2. http://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=Plebulina&search=Search [back]
Last Revised: 7/16/2012