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Marine Blue Butterfly (Leptotes marina) |
One
of the more enjoyable aspects of gardening is watching the birds and animals
that visit/live in your garden.
Butterflies are among the more popular visitors, and most gardens
attract a few species. But a garden
filled with nectar-rich flowers and larval host plants can be alive with many
species by mid-summer. To learn more
about butterfly gardening see: http://mother-natures-backyard.blogspot.com/2012/06/butterfly-gardens.html
Among
the common butterflies visiting native ‘butterfly plants’ are the small species
known as the Blue Butterflies. There are
many species of ‘Blues’ throughout the world.
They all are classed as Gossamer-winged Butterflies (Family Lycaenidae), a large group that includes
around 40% of all butterfly species (over 5000 species in the Family). Some of
the common types of butterflies in this family are the Blue, Copper, Azure and
Hairstreak butterflies. We introduced
another Gossamer-wing, the Gray Hairstreak, last month: http://mother-natures-backyard.blogspot.com/2018/07/gray-hairstreak-butterfly-strymon.html
The
Gossamer-winged butterflies are mostly small.
They have delicate wings that appear to shine with color. In the case of the Blue Butterflies, the
predominant color of the upper-side of the wings is a shimmery blue that varies
with the light. Gossamer-wings live in a
wide range of habitats from deserts to tropical rain forests and wetlands. And some are common visitors to home gardens.
The
Blue Butterflies belong the sub-family Polyommatinae (the Blue Butterflies). This sub-family has traditionally been a sort
of catch-all for species of similar appearance.
So it’s difficult to tell how many species it actually contains
(molecular taxonomy will one day sort this out). Southern California genera currently included
in the Polyommatinae are: Brephidium
(Pygmy Blues), Celastrina (Azures), Euphilotes, Glaucopsyche,
Hemiargus, Leptotes, Philotes, and Plebejus.
The
most widely known (and the rarest) of the local Blue Butterflies are the Palos
Verdes and El Segundo Blues (Glaucopsyche lygdamus palosverdesensis and Euphilotes
battoides allyni, respectively). These two species have very limited geographic
ranges (in Western Los Angeles County) and larval food sources. Efforts to bring these two species back from
the brink of extinction have been widely publicized. Their story has become part of the
restoration ecology lore.
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| Mesquite (Prosopis species): larval food for Marine Blue Butterfly (Leptotes marina) |
The
Marine Blue (Leptotes marina) is a
far more common butterfly in S. California.
Its range extends from California and Arizona east to Texas and south to
Central America. [1] It’s a fairly common small butterfly in S.
California, living in Mesquite and Coastal Sage scrub, city
gardens and agricultural areas where alfalfa is grown. In the Sonoran Desert, it’s
commonly seen along
riparian corridors, which contain mesquites or other plants in the bean family. Because its larval foods are common, gardeners
in S. California, Arizona, New Mexico, southern Colorado or Texas may see this
butterfly in their home gardens.
Individuals occasionally stray further north, but they apparently don’t
over-winter.
The species was named by Tryon
Reakirt (1844 – ?) in 1868. Reakirt was a businessman but was really a
lepidopterist at heart. [2] He joined
the Entomological Society of Philadelphia at the age of 19 and became an accomplished
taxonomist. Reakirt's Blue butterfly also
honors Tryon Reakirt.
Reakirt was particularly interested
in butterflies of the tropics and the American Rockies, publishing nine
articles in the Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Philadelphia. He
apparently was not a field collector and never visited the American Southwest. Ultimately,
his business dealings failed (there were hints of corruption), and Reakirt fled
to Peru in 1871. For more on the little
that’s known about this talented lepidopterist see reference 2, below.
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| Marine Blue Butterfly (Leptotes marina) is small |
Like all the Blues, the Marine Blue
is a rather small butterfly, with a wingspan ranging from 7/8 to 1 1/8 inches
(2.2 - 2.9 cm). [3] It flies with a
rapid, erratic flight pattern, landing to feed or search for mates. When perched, the wings are usually closed,
making it difficult to see (or photograph) the upper wing surface. The upper surface is an iridescent blue-purple
with a hint of brown. The males have pale
brown and white markings on the upper wing surface; females are all
blue-purple. For good photos, see
references 3 & 4, below.
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| Marine Blue Butterfly (Leptotes marina): underside |
The undersurface is often the best
distinguishing characteristic between the different Blues. In the case of the Marine Blue, the underside
has distinctive, wavy, tan and white bands that are reminiscent of ocean waves coming
in to shore. I’m not sure why the Marine
Blue is called ‘Marine’, but suspect it’s because of the ‘waves’. The underside also has a line of tan and white
circles on the wing margins, and two larger, darker spots on the lower dorsal
wing (see above).
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| Marine Blue Butterfly (Leptotes marina): nectaring on Dune Buckwheat (Eriogonum parvifolium) |
Adults nectar on whatever small flowers
are blooming. In our gardens, we most
often see them on the native Buckwheats or plants in the Sunflower family. They are also commonly seen around their
larval food plants – the legumes (members of the Pea Family – Fagaceae). So you may see them near the peas in your
vegetable garden as well. Common larval
foods in S. California include the native Milkvetches (Astragalus species), Amorpha
californica and fruticosa, Glycyrrhiza lepidota, native Lathyrus (wild
pea) and Lotus species, and the non-native Wisterias, Plumbagos,
Acacias, alfalfa and garden peas. In the desert, common host plants are the
tree and shrubby legumes, including Mesquites (Prosopis species), Acacia
greggii, Dalea purpurea and Lysiloma thornberi.
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| Amorpha fruticosa: larval food source for Marine Blue Butterfly (Leptotes marina) |
Females
lay their eggs on the flower buds of host plants. The eggs and young larvae are
small and well camouflaged; you’ll have to really look for them. The larvae eat
mainly the flowers and the seedpods. For
good photos of eggs, larval stages [4, 5].
For good advice on raising this butterfly see reference 5, below.
Marine
Blues can be seen year-round in S. California and other warm places. We see them most often in summer and fall in
Mother Nature’s Backyard. They are fun
to observe and add to the interest of a garden.
But what role do they play in the garden ecosystem – and why should we
be interested in attracting them?
All
butterflies and their larvae provide protein for birds, wasps and other
insect-eating species. So Marine Blues
certainly function as prey. But do they
also play a role as pollinators, particularly of the small-flowered species
they seem to prefer? In fact, the answer has yet to be discovered.
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| Marine Blue Butterfly (Leptotes marina): note how hairy this species is. |
Butterflies
are thought to be minor pollinators for most plants. Perhaps that’s why relatively little research
has been done, except in the case of a few flowering plants. But a good look at the smaller butterflies,
like the Gossamer Wings and Skippers, makes us wonder. These butterflies have relatively short legs
(for butterflies), visit many flowers, and can be seen in large (aggregate)
numbers, particularly in areas of the arid Southwest. These butterflies are also conspicuously
hairy, particularly on the underbody and around the face. All these factors make us wonder if they are
more important alternate pollinators than is often thought.
Good
studies of pollinator activity are difficult to carry out. They require time, patience, hard fieldwork
and observation. Probably the best
studies document that pollen is actually carried by a pollinator. Such studies require extreme magnification –
at the level of the electron microscope.
As far as we can determine, few studies have focused on the Blues as
pollinators. We hope that some
up-and-coming Southwestern lepidopterist will seize the opportunity, enlightening
us on the role of the Blue butterflies as pollinators. That would make a fantastic doctoral
dissertation!
The
Blue Butterflies also remind us that specialization – whether in nature,
agriculture or business – carries with it a substantial risk. The highly specialized El Segundo and Palos
Verdes Blue Butterflies, with their limited larval food sources, are extremely vulnerable
to habitat loss. The more generalist
Marine Blues, with their ability to utilize a range of native and non-native
legumes, have lots more options. The Marine
Blue serves to remind us that flexibility can be a reasonable survival strategy
in times of rapid change – like now.
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| Marine Blue Butterfly (Leptotes marina): Madrona Marsh Preserve, Torrance CA |
See our other insect postings for more
on common insect visitors to S. California gardens: http://mother-natures-backyard.blogspot.com/2016/07/insect-postings-mother-natures-backyard.html
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We encourage your
comments below. If you have questions
about butterflies or other gardening topics you can e-mail us at : mothernaturesbackyard10@gmail.com
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