Bug FAQGreenish Blue
Icaricia saepiolus · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Lycaenidae
The greenish blue butterfly has a wingspan of about 21 to 28 mm. Adults are active from June through August.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Plebejus saepiolus, formerly Icaricia saepiolus, is a Lycaenid butterfly known as the greenish blue.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Wingspan ranges from 21 to 28 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It occurs from the northwestern United States up into southern Saskatchewan and Alberta.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Larvae feed on several clover species: Trifolium monathum, T. longipes, and T. wormskioldii.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Adults are on the wing from June to August.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Flight period is June through August.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its native range includes the northwestern United States and parts of southern Canada.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
It belongs to the Lycaenidae family and is identified as Plebejus saepiolus.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 17 of 51 states and DC. Most records: California, Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in United States; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What do the caterpillars eat?
The larvae feed on clover species such as Trifolium monathum, T. longipes, and T. wormskioldii.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Lycaenidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icaricia_saepiolus
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.