Western Pygmy Blue

                                                   

                                                                                                                                        

    Hey it’s me again! Last week I talked about the world’s largest butterfly, known as, the Queen Alexandra Birdwing. This week I will be talking about the world’s smallest butterfly! This little guy is called the Western Pygmy Blue.

  They can be found in the western United States. The Pygmy Blue is actually a very common butterfly but most people miss them because of their small size and low flight levels. They are known to be no bigger than 3/8in. The name of these little guys can lead you to think that they are blue when they really are not. They actually vary in shades of gray and brown. Some may appear to have a bluish tint. Along with these shades the wings of this butterfly are trimmed in white dashes, which can vary in thickness. The caterpillars are a pale green or a cream-white with yellow stripes along its body and brown bumps all over. Like most butterflies, the adult Western Pygmy Blues feed on nectar from flowers. The caterpillars of this species feed on plants like the Fourwing Saltbush.  

   Males of this species stay near their host plants,where the female will lay her eggs, to find a receptive female. Once ready the female will lay the eggs on the upper side of the leaves.  Any plants in the goosefoot family usually are always found to be the host for this species. You will see them in flight year round in South Texas and through the months of July to September in the north. Despite their little size, these butterflies actually migrate!!! How crazy is that?! They are so small it seems like if someone sneezed too hard it would blow them across the country! Well, I hope everyone enjoyed reading a little about this amazing little butterfly.