Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History

Disclaimer: This material is being kept online for historical purposes. Content is no longer being updated and may contain broken links.

Santa Barbara Field Guides - Butterflies
Lepidoptera
Lycaenidae
Brephidium exile
Western Pygmy Blue


male upperside	male underside	female upperside	female underside

Recognition: Very small; light brown with blue at inner wings, near body; underside is light brown and white pattern with more white on inner wings; also has white fringes.
Flight period: The adults of this Blue fly from March to October, or all year.
Hostplants: Pigweed (Chenopodium album) and saltbrush (Atriplex) are the hostplants for the larvae along with other Chenopodiaceae family plants, including a particular species of saltbrush that commonly grows in waste areas.
Habitat: They prefer salty areas, such as salt plains, deserts, coasts, and waste sites.
Distribution: A resident of central and southern California, it ranges over much of the U.S. The Western Pygmy Blue is a common butterfly in the deserts and lowlands of southern California and has been found everywhere from Furnace Creek in Death Valley ( 178 ft below sea level) to high in the Panamint mountains, although it is rare at higher elevations. It has been recorded on Santa Cruz and Catalina islands off of the California coast.
Other: The Western Pygmy Blue is one of the smallest butterflies in the world and can be tough to spot, however they can often be found around their hostplants.

previous species Family list Lycaenidae next species