Leptotes marina

Marine Blue

This common blue has proliferated as non-native plumbago plants have spread through much of southern California. As for natives, this attractive blue uses common members of the Fabaceae family as larval food plants, such as rattlepod, deerweed, false indigo, and alfalfa. Sexually dimorphic, the male has a blue body grading into wings of pinkish violet, quite different from the brownish females. The early stages are illustrated below. This butterfly has become a year-round presence where the weather allows, and can be abundant in the summer in places around Big Bear and the desert mountains where legumes thrive. I'm updating this page in late 2023, but leaving the captions below in place because it reminds me of when I was first gardening for these butterflies in my yard over fifteen years ago. The two plumbago shrubs I have are almost too big to manage lately, and they still draw many butterflies: marine blues but also almost anything looking to get some nectar.