Lotis Blue Butterfly Recovery Plan - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

presents. information on the lotis blue butterfly's current and former
distribution, and speculates (because of 1 imi ted information) on its
life history and requirements for survival. Characteristics of its
known habitat are described. Additional research activities are
proposed to provide insight for management and recovery of this
endangered species and its habitat.
Ta xonomy
Lycaeides argyrognomon lotis (Lintner) is one of 12 subspecies
described from North America (dos Passos 1964, Downey 1975). The
type 1 ocal i ty is Mendoci no County, Cal iforni a (Lintner 1876).
The loti s blue butterfly is morphologically distinguished from other
races of the widely distributed species, Lycaeides argyroqnomon, by
its size, wing color and maculation pattern. The lotis blue butterfly
exhibits one of the largest wingspans of any Nearctic (New World
Arctic) race of - L. argyrognomon. Wingspan averages sl ightly less than
2.5 cm, with a range of about 1.5 to 3.2 cm. The upper wing surfaces
are a deep violet-blue in the male with a crenulate black border and
fringe of white scales along the outer wing margin (tennen). In the
female, the upper wing surface is brown, sometinies bl uish-brown, with
a wavy band of orange across the subtermen of the fore- and hindwings.
An inconspicuous black crenulate band and fringe of white (frequently
brown-white) scales 1 ie along the termen. Ventral facies in both
sexes are characterized by a grayish ground color with scattered black
spots in the distal, subterminal and terminal areas. Light blue-green
I