Mission Blue Butterfly
Lambert M. Surhone, Mariam T. Tennoe, Susan F. Henssonow
High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles!
High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles!
The Mission Blue (Aricia icarioides missionensis) is a blue or lycaenid butterfly subspecies native to the San Francisco Bay Area of the United States.
The butterfly has been declared as endangered by the US Federal Government.
It is a subspecies of Boisduval's Blue (Aricia icarioides)
The endangered Mission Blue has a wingspan of about 21-33 millimetres (0.83-1.3 in).
Larvae are extremely small and rarely seen.
The males' top wing grades from ice blue in the center to deep sky blue (misregistered as turquoise/cyan to violet by most photographic equipment, the wing color carries no hint of green or purple, strictly capturing an enthralling spectrum of purest, clearest, richest, brightest blue) exhibiting a dazzling iridescent fluctuation in range under direct, full sunlight.
Black margins on the upper wing sport "long, white, hair-like scales.
