Windwolf
Crex Meadows Butterflies ... Silvery Blue
Silvery Blue
Glaucopsyche lygdamus
The various Blues have begun to show themselves in the last two weeks with numbers increasing as warm days lengthen.
I have not learned yet how they seperate males from females in this particular species, but the various websites indicate the females are darker with a wider black band.
Wing span: 7/8 - 1 1/4 inches (2.2 - 3.2 cm).
Caterpillar hosts: Members of the legume family including Astragalus, Lotus, Lupinus, Melilotus, Oxytropis, Lathyrus, and Vicia.
Caterpillars feed on flowers, seedpods, and young leaves and are tended by ants; fully-grown caterpillars hibernate.
| Kingdom | Animalia | (Animals) |
| Phylum | Arthropoda | (Arthropods) |
| Superclass | Hexapoda | (Hexapods) |
| Class | Insecta | (Insects) |
| Subclass | Pterygota | (Winged Insects) |
| Order | Lepidoptera | (Butterflies and Moths) |
| Superfamily | Papilionoidea | (Butterflies) |
| Family | Lycaenidae | (Gossamer winged butterflies) |
| Subfamily | Polyommatinae | (Blues) |
| Genus | Glaucopsyche | |
| Species | lygdamus | (Silvery Blue) |
The Blues present a difficult challenge to photograph with wings open most days. What seems to work is being ready to take a picture soon after the butterfly lands.
Large groups of Blues tend to show open more frequently.
All pictures taken May 21, 2008
Sighting Dates:
My sightings charts are a work in progress. Early in my butterfly photography, I was learning what I was seeing. When I discovered Wisconsinbutterflies.org, my submissions were only undocumented or species that had no photos. I have gone through my photos from that year and was able to add sightings to make for a better accounting.
In 2009, I set a goal of trying to hit the meadows once a week to record the butterflies, but weather prevented some visits. Also, I did not keep a good record of how many were seen, so some sightings were locations seen at, not numbers of butterflies seen.
In 2010, I began to try to document actual numbers. For many of these guys, such as the Milberts tortoisehell, as of today, I have only seen single individuals, so those sightings are locations. If I reported 3 one week, it was three individuals that week, in different locations on Crex Meadows. So to use this charting to its best use, look for a general average sighting date over the years.
Also note, in 2010, butterflies across wisconsin were being reported two to three weeks earlier than normal.