Got the Blues? If you can’t beat them join em!
(Square-spotted & Dotted Buckwheat Blues)
Whether your feeling a bit low or not, chilling with some Blues is bound to better your mood. I found this straggle of buckwheat lovers partying it up on the trail to Holy Jim Falls in the Santa Ana Mountains, CA. The females were laying eggs, the males were puddling… all were having a grand time just hanging with the soft, lush buckwheat ( Eriogonum fasciculatum foliolosum). Don’t get me wrong, being with these guys was very cool and I loved every moment of it, but keeping company with the Buckwheat Blues can also be very confusing. Even after sharing an intimate afternoon with these butterflies, I still could not clearly tell who was a dot and who was a square.
Fred Heath, a fellow groupie and author of An Introduction to Southern California Butterflies, had this to say about his experiences with these particular butterflies. “Distinguishing the Square-spotted Blue (Euphilotes battoides) from the Dotted Blue (Euphilotes enoptes) is quite difficult…”. Mr. Heath goes on to say that “Generally, the Square-spotted has heavier black markings below, including the lines along the margins, and the orange in its hindwings is continuous as opposed to being separated into spots.”
Hmmmmm, thanks so very much to Mr. Heath, could be my mellow state of being, but I am still feeling a bit bemused as to which species is which here. DNA barcoding where are you when I need you! (read more on this here http://www.lepbarcoding.org/index.php ) Based on what I can see I am guessing that both of the aforementioned species were represented on the trail to Holy Jim Falls, although, I am not certain and welcome any feedback or commentary. Just don’t bring me down ok… or else I’ll have to be off chasing those blues again… -K.D’Angelo
Dear Kristen,
Thank you for the mention of my book in your blog.
The blues in your photographs are all the “Bernardino” Square-spotted Blue (Euphilotes battoides bernardino). Recently, according to many butterfly authorities, this butterfly should be considered as full species, the Bernardino Blue (Euphilotes bernardino) which is found throughout southern California and western Arizona where its food plant the California Buckwheat occurs. There are several forms of Dotted Blue (Euplilotes enoptes) which occur in southern California, including one which can be found in the nearby San Gabriel Mountains and it feeds on Naked Buckwheat (Eriogonum nudum). Although it was not listed in the 1977 The Butterflies of Orange County by Larry Orsak (out of print), I recent list I’ve seen has it listed. Since E. nudum isn’t found in Orange Co., I doubt the butterfly occurs. In addition, this butterfly looks very different from the Bernardino Blue with much smaller spots.
All of the buckwheat blues stay very close to their food plant and usually nectar on it as well as mate and the female lay eggs on it. Thus there is good chance if you are looking at a buckwheat blue on California Buckwheat it is a Bernardino Blue. The Acmon Blue has a similar pattern with black spots and orange on the hind wing and could be found nectaring on California Buckwheat (lots of butterfly species can’t resist), but it is different enough (larger, paler blue above and with iridescent hind wing marginal spots) that it should be mistaken for a buckwheat blue.
—–Best regards, Fred Heath
( Author of An Introduction Southern California Butterflies )