Icarioides saepiolus aehaja
Greenish Blue
The greenish blue - Icarioides saepiolus - has a dozen subspecies in the latest Pelham catalogue, and seven of these (by my count) are in California (with one of those extinct). Populations in the southern Sierra Nevada are aehaja. Flying generally in June and July, it seems to be single brooded, overwintering as a half-grown larva. The larval food plants are clovers (Trifolium spp.). Caterpillars may be nocturnal feeders, spending the day hiding near the base of the clover plants.
A female Icarioides saepiolus aehaja, the greenish blue, from Big Meadow in the Sierras. July 19, 2012.
Another brown female from the same meadow.
I first found the greenish blue, Icarioides saepiolus aehaja, a few years earlier in a wet meadow off the Sherman Pass Road on July 20, 2008. This is a male.
A female greenish blue in the same meadow. The ventral side of females is a touch browner than males; it is more obvious in person.
A male aehaja in the same meadow, July 20, 2008.
This female greenish blue has aberrant spotting. July 20, 2008.
©Dennis Walker
