Philotes sonorensis

Philotes is a genus of butterflies in the family Lycaenidae. Philotes is a monotypic genus containing only Philotes sonorensis, the Sonoran blue or stonecrop blue, found in North America in California and Baja California.[2] The habitat consists of rocky washes, outcrops and cliffs in deserts.[3]

Philotes sonorensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Lycaenidae
Genus: Philotes
Scudder, 1876
Species:
P. sonorensis
Binomial name
Philotes sonorensis
(C. & R. Felder, [1865])[1]
Synonyms
  • Lycaena sonorensis C. & R. Felder, [1865]
  • Lycaena regia Boisduval, 1869
  • Philotes sonorensis ab. sonoralba Watson & Comstock, 1920
  • Philotes sonorensis f. comstocki Gunder, 1925

The wingspan is 22–25 mm. The upperside is silvery blue with red spots at the outer margin of the forewings. Females also have red spots on the hindwings. Adults are on the wing in February and March, with just one generation per year.[2]

The larvae feed on Dudleya species, including D. cymosa, D. lanceolata and D. saxosa. They bore into the leaves of their host plant. Chrysalids hibernate under stones.[3]

Subspecies
  • Philotes sonorensis sonorensis
  • †Philotes sonorensis extinctis Mattoni, 1991 (upper San Gabriel river wash in southern California)

References
  1. Philotes at Markku Savela's website on Lepidoptera
  2. Butterflies and Moths of North America
  3. "NatureServe Explorer 2.0". explorer.natureserve.org.


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