Best Lycaenidae

The Xerces blue, Glaucopsyche xerces, was a small butterfly native to coastal sand dunes on the San Francisco Peninsula in California. It had blue wings in males and browner coloration in females, with distinctive pale spots on the hindwing undersides. Habitat destruction associated with urban devel...

The Atala butterfly is a small, colorful lepidopteran native to Florida and the Caribbean, including Cuba and the Bahamas. The species was once believed to be extinct in the United States during the 1930s due to the overharvesting of its sole host plant, the coontie palm. However, it has since exper...

The Large Blue is a species of butterfly native to Europe and parts of Asia, recognized for its complex and highly specialized parasitic lifecycle. The caterpillars initially feed on wild thyme before dropping to the ground, where they use chemical mimicry to be carried into the nests of specific re...

Lycaena dispar, commonly called the Large Copper, is a butterfly species in the family Lycaenidae. The nominate British subspecies became extinct in England around 1851, primarily due to the drainage of East Anglian fens that eliminated its wetland habitat. The continental European subspecies surviv...

The Palos Verdes blue is an endangered butterfly associated with the Palos Verdes Peninsula in southern California. It is treated as a subspecies of the silvery blue and depends on particular local food plants used by its larvae, including deerweed and locoweed. After being considered extinct, it wa...

The Chalkhill Blue (Polyommatus coridon) is a butterfly found across parts of Europe, primarily on chalk and limestone grasslands. Its caterpillars feed on horseshoe vetch and are attended by ants, a relationship common in the family Lycaenidae. Adults display pale blue upperwings in males and brown...

Lycaena alciphron, commonly known as the Purple-shot Copper, is a butterfly species belonging to the family Lycaenidae. It is found across Europe and parts of Asia, typically inhabiting grasslands, meadows, and clearings. The upper side of the male's wings is predominantly orange-red, overlaid with...

The Great Copper (Lycaena dispar) is a large butterfly species belonging to the family Lycaenidae, characterized by its bright orange upperwings marked with dark spots. The nominate British subspecies, L. d. dispar, went extinct around 1848 due to the extensive drainage of its fenland habitats in Ea...

The Karner Blue (Plebejus melissa samuelis) is a small butterfly native to North America, notable for its strict dependence on wild lupine (Lupinus perennis) as the sole food source for its caterpillars. The species was classified by novelist and lepidopterist Vladimir Nabokov in 1944. It is federal...

Despite its name, the Great Purple Hairstreak is a large North American butterfly lacking actual purple coloration, instead shimmering in metallic blue on its upper wings. The butterfly belongs to the gossamer-winged butterfly family Lycaenidae and has a wingspan ranging from 1.25 to 1.5 inches. Gre...

The Mission Blue (Icaricia icarioides missionensis) is an endangered butterfly subspecies native to the San Francisco Bay Area, discovered in 1937. The butterfly has a wingspan of approximately 1 to 1.4 inches and features blue-violet upper wing surfaces in males and brownish-blue in females. Missio...

The Silver-studded Blue (Plebejus argus) is a butterfly species belonging to the Lycaenidae family, widely distributed across heathlands and grasslands in Europe. It derives its common name from the distinct metallic silver spots found on the underside of its hindwings. The larvae possess a speciali...

The Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) is a small butterfly belonging to the Lycaenidae family, predominantly found across Europe and temperate Asia. It exhibits significant sexual dimorphism; males possess vivid violet-blue upper wings, whereas females are primarily brown with a variable amount of bl...

The Miami blue (*Cyclargus thomasi bethunebakeri*) is an endangered butterfly species native to Florida, primarily found in the southern coastal regions and the Florida Keys. It is a small lepidopteran distinguished by the bright, metallic blue coloration on the upper side of its wings, contrasted b...

The holly blue (Celastrina argiolus) is a small butterfly found across Europe and temperate Asia, easily recognized by the pale silvery-blue upperwings of the male. It is one of the most familiar blue butterflies in the Lycaenidae family and frequently appears in gardens and woodland edges. Females...

The olive hairstreak, Callophrys gryneus, is a small North American butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is also widely known as the juniper hairstreak because its larvae feed on junipers, including eastern red cedar, while adults visit flowers for nectar. The underside of the wings is typically g...

The El Segundo blue, Euphilotes battoides allyni, is a small butterfly restricted to coastal sand dune habitat in and near El Segundo in Los Angeles County, California. Its larvae depend on coast buckwheat as their principal host plant, closely linking the butterfly's survival to intact dune vegetat...

The Mazarine Blue (Cyaniris semiargus, formerly classified under Polyommatus) is a small butterfly in the family Lycaenidae native to much of Europe and temperate Asia, with populations extending into North Africa. The upper surfaces of the male's wings are a vivid blue, while females are generally...

Parrhasius m-album, the White-M Hairstreak, is an eastern North American butterfly named for a distinctive white 'M' marking on the hindwing underside, with oaks as its larval host.

The Harvester is a notable North American butterfly distinguished as the continent's only strictly carnivorous species, feeding on woolly aphids.

The Spring Azure is a small, widespread butterfly found across North America, notable for its extreme geographical and seasonal wing color variations.

The Bronze Copper is a North American butterfly commonly found in wetland habitats, noted for the striking metallic bronze hue of the males.

The Coral Hairstreak is a North American butterfly uniquely lacking the hindwing tails common to its relatives, featuring vibrant coral spots.

The Summer Azure is a North American butterfly scientifically described by William Henry Edwards in 1862 and distinguished by its pale blue wings.

One of the smallest butterflies in North America, with a wingspan of roughly 1.2–2 cm, inhabiting saltmarshes and alkaline flats across the western United States.

The American Copper is an abundant butterfly across the northern United States, recognized by its bright orange forewings with dark grey borders.

The Brown Hairstreak is an elusive European butterfly notable for the striking golden-orange stripes found on the undersides of its wings.

The Echo Azure is a small butterfly native to the western United States, recognized as a distinct species by lepidopterists in the late 20th century.

Calycopis cecrops, the Red-banded Hairstreak, is a small eastern North American butterfly recognized by a vivid red postmedian band on the hindwing underside, with larvae feeding on decaying leaves.