Boisduval's blue
Icaricia icarioides
Boisduval's blue is a small blue butterfly from western North America. Its caterpillars live only on lupine plants. It has 25 different kinds, and some of them are very rare.
Lives in
Western United States and Canada, in meadows, mountains, dunes and sagebrush
Wingspan
2.1 to 3.2 cm (0.83 to 1.3 in)
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It does not bite or sting.
What does it eat?
The butterflies drink nectar from buckwheat flowers and daisies. The caterpillars eat lupines.
How big is it?
How wide are its wings?
🍚wings as wide as 5 grains of rice in a row⚽could fly across a whole football pitch in 34 seconds
How big is Boisduval's blue compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
How fast is it?
A person walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)
Boisduval's blue about 11 km/h (6.8 mph)
A kid running fast about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)
A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
Its wings are only about 2 to 3 centimetres from tip to tip.
2
It has 25 named kinds, such as the Mission blue and Fender's blue.
3
One of its kinds, called pheres, has died out.
4
It always lives close to lupine plants, which its caterpillars need.
you asked
Most asked questions about Boisduval's blue
?What does Boisduval's blue eat?
The caterpillars eat lupines, and the butterflies drink nectar from flowers.
?Where does Boisduval's blue live?
In the western United States and Canada, in meadows, mountains and dunes.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Icaricia icarioides
- Group
- Butterflies
- Family
- Lycaenidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Lycaenidae
- Lives on
- North America
Where the facts come from
- Icaricia icarioides (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Kobernus, Patrick. Public domain, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
Bug Wiki honey jar For grown-ups: Bug Wiki is free, with no ads and no tracking. A small tip helps keep it online.Leave a tip
Monarch butterfly
Peacock butterfly
Blue morpho
Old World swallowtail
Small white
Eastern tiger swallowtail
Eastern honey bee
Eastern lubber grasshopper
Jersey tiger
Bogong moth
European paper wasp
Amber wood cockroach