I saw just this single Glaucopsyche piasus excubita flying around the Lupines down Kelso Valley Road in this very dry year. Excubita was described in the 1998 Systematics book. It uses Grape Sode Lupine, Lupinus excubitus, thus the subspecies name excubita. I've only visited this part of Kern County a couple of times, and each time I've seen several species of blue on these lupines (just under a mile south of the intersection with Piute Mountain Road). But this is the first time I've seen this one, the one I've most wanted to see. April 7, 2014.

A week later than the above, I tried the Kern River Valley area and found Glaucopsyche piasus excubita in good numbers among the lupines along the Whiskey Flat Trail. Finding the right spot makes all the difference. April 13, 2014.

A female Glaucopsyche piasus excubita ovipositing on host Lupinus excubitus. Whiskey Flat Trail, April 13, 2014.

Dorsal view of a female Glaucopsyche piasus excubita. Whiskey Flat Trail, April 13, 2014.