Western Pygmy-Blue

Brephidium exilis

The Western Pygmy-Blue is a tiny butterfly with beautiful blue wings. They love to flutter around flowers and are often found in sunny places. These little butterflies are fun to watch as they dance in the air!

Lebensraum: Grasslands

Aussehen

The Western Pygmy-Blue is one of North America's smallest butterflies, often less than an inch wide. Its upperwings are a dull coppery-brown with a small patch of iridescent blue near the body, while the undersides are a paler grayish-brown, sometimes with faint white spots. This tiny size and subdued coloring helps it blend in with dry vegetation.

ReichAnimaliaStammArthropodaKlasseInsectaOrdnungLepidopteraFamilieLycaenidaeGattungBrephidium

Western Pygmy-Blue

Kategorie

Insekten

Seltenheit

Common

Gefahr

1/5 · Sehr gering

Snaps

Mach den ersten Snap!

Interessante Fakten

Their caterpillars are picky eaters, munching only on flowers and seeds!

These tiny flyers can have up to eight generations in a single year!

Western Pygmy-Blues are the smallest butterflies in all of North America!

You can spot them fluttering near the ocean or in hot, dry desert areas!

Besondere Fähigkeiten

Western Pygmy-Blue has a super tiny body that helps them easily hide from predators and fit into small crevices.

Western Pygmy-Blue can complete its life cycle quickly, allowing many generations to emerge each year, adapting fast.

Western Pygmy-Blue caterpillars can eat salt-tolerant plants, allowing them to thrive in coastal and desert environments.

Maße und Details

Flügelspannweite: 10-18 mm
Größe: 6-10 mm
Lebenserwartung: 7-14 Tage
Anzahl der Beine: 6

Ernährung und Fütterung

Tiny butterflies sipping nectar; caterpillars munch on plant flowers and seeds.

Altersunterschiede: Larvae eat plant parts like seeds and flowers, while adults drink nectar.

Hauptnahrung

Nectar
Saltbush flowers
Pickleweed seeds
Pigweed flowers

Nahrungssuche

Foraging

Ökologische Zusammenhänge

depends on

Fourwing saltbush

Atriplex canescens

Larvae feed on its flowers and seeds.

depends on

Dwarf glasswort

Salicornia bigelovii

Larvae feed on its stems and seeds.

eaten by

Flower crab spider

Misumena vatia

Spiders ambush them on flowers.

pollinates

Yarrow

Achillea millefolium

Adults visit flowers for nectar.

Merkmale

Bestäubermagnet

Beschreibt Pflanzen, die für eine Vielzahl von bestäubenden Organismen besonders attraktiv und nützlich sind.

Farbenfroh

Farbenfroh beschreibt Organismen oder Objekte, die eine große Vielfalt an leuchtenden und deutlich erkennbaren Farben aufweisen.

Grasland

Grasland-Lebensräume sind terrestrische Biome, die von Gräsern und krautigen Pflanzen dominiert werden und einer Vielzahl von Weidetieren als Lebensraum dienen.