Greenish Blue

Resident in large area of western North America, north to Alaska and across Canada (Scott 1986). Habitats are moist meadows and streamsides from the high transition zone prairie to the alpine zone and edge of the tundra. Host plants are usually herbaceous Leguminosae, with most known hosts from genus Trifolium. Eggs are laid on the host plant singly. Larvae eat flowers. Individuals overwinter as half-grown larvae. There is one flight each year with the approximate flight time late May-early July in low altitudes, late June-Aug 15 in high altitudes and northward (Scott 1986).

Adults sip flower nectar (especially host flowers) and mud. Males patrol for females (Scott, 1986).

Not of concern.

One annual brood, flying May into August depending on habitat and elevation.

Found from Alaska south throughout most most of Canada (except for the high arctic), occuring south in the west to New Mexico and California (Opler 1999).

"The Greenish Blue has at most one or two poorly-developed orange spots near the outer angle of the hindwing underside, and a discal spot on the forewing upperside. The marginal row of spots on the underside mark both the fore- and hindwing, and the black dots near the middle of the hindwing are not prominently ringed in white (as in Icaricia icarioides) or blotchy and white (as in Agriades glandon). Balint & Johnson (1997) transferred saepiolus to the genus Aricia. Susbspecies amica (W.H. Edwards) occurs throughout most of Alberta (Bird et al. 1995), while some Alberta populations do not match any named subspecies (Kondla and Guppy 2002)."

Widespread throughout the province, from cattle pastures and roadsides to alpine meadows.

In the US, the greenish-white eggs are laid among the flowers of the hostplant, which the green-coloured larvae feed on (Scott 1986). Larvae also have a red-brown colour form (Layberry et al. 1998). Partially-grown larvae hibernate; pupae grey mottled with black (Scott 1986).

Fletcher (1908) reported a female ovipositing on Hedysarum boreale at Kinistino, Saskatchewan (erroneously cited as "Kenistino, Alberta" in Guppy & Shepard 2001). Larvae are reported to feed on a variety of legumes in the western US (Scott 1986), and introduced clovers (Trifolium repens and hybridum, but not pratense) in eastern Canada (Layberry et al. 1998).