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Melissa blue
Conservation status
Apparently Secure  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Lycaenidae
Genus:	Plebejus
Species:	P. melissa
Binomial name
Plebejus melissa W.H. Edwards, 1873

The Melissa blue (Plebejus melissa) is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in western North America, from Canada to Mexico.

Taxonomy

The Karner blue (Plebejus samuelis) was traditionally considered a subspecies of the Melissa blue, and was described by the novelist/lepidopterist Vladimir Nabokov.

Description

The wingspan is 22–35 mm. Below, the hindwing orange submarginal band, often with distal iridescent blue points, help to distinguish this species from the more muted colors and markings of the similar Plebejus idas. The marginal line is wider where the veins intersect. The fringes are not checked.

Behavior and diet

The butterfly flies from April to August depending on the location. The larvae feed on Lupinus, Medicago and Lotus species.

References

1. "Melissa Blue". Retrieved 16 November 2024.
2. Glassberg, Jeffrey (2001). Butterflies through Binoculars: The West. Oxford University Press. p. 122. ISBN 978-0195106695.

External links

• Media related to Plebejus melissa at Wikimedia Commons
• Butterflies and Moths of North America

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• NatureServe apparently secure species
• Plebejus
• Butterflies described in 1873
• Butterflies of North America
• Taxa named by William Henry Edwards
• Lycaenidae stubs