Acmon Blue (Icaricia acmon) lives in dry open areas across Western North America. It feeds on buckwheat flowers leaves.
Fascinating facts about the Acmon Blue
- Its range covers about 2,500,000 square km across western North America, stretching from California and Oregon up into southwestern Canada and across the Great Plains. Because it occupies such a large area, the butterfly is found in a wide variety of habitats, including grasslands, fields, shrub lands, forests and deserts. This broad distribution means the species can encounter many different climate conditions and plant communities throughout its range.
- Males have blue wing tops with dark edges, while females display brown wing tops. The blue colour on the male's dorsal side is vivid and contrasts sharply with the darker margins.
- Females show contrasting rows of red lunules on their wings, and these lunules can sometimes fuse into a single band. The bright red markings are most noticeable on the underside where a red-orange band runs along the hindwing.
- Both male and female Acmon blues display a pure white underside that is dotted with numerous black spots, giving the wings a speckled appearance. Across the hindwing this pale background is interrupted by a vivid red-orange band that runs the length of the margin, a feature that is present in every individual regardless of sex. The contrasting colours on the ventral side are a key field mark for identifying this species when it is at rest with its wings closed.
- Acmon blue caterpillars engage in a mutualistic partnership with ants, a trait common among lycaenid butterflies. The larvae secrete a sugary honeydew that attracts ants, and in return the ants guard the vulnerable caterpillars from predators and parasites.
Sources
Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.
At a glance
RangeWestern North America
HabitatDry open areas
DietBuckwheat flowers leaves
About the Acmon Blue
As the Acmon Blue dances across the sun-baked landscape, its iridescent wings beat at a hypnotic pace, casting a mesmerizing shimmer across the dusty terrain. With an effortless flutter, this diminutive butterfly navigates the intricate network of wildflowers and grasses, its delicate form weaving in and out of the lush vegetation with an air of weightless abandon. In its fleeting, whirling path, the Acmon Blue embodies the very essence of carefree joy, its beauty and fragility inspiring a deep sense of wonder at the natural world.
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