Size: Up to 0.85 inch wingspan

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Key ID features:  Small.  Male blue above with narrow dark wing borders. Female dark brown above with variable orange zigzag along trailing margin. Both sexes have checked fringe on FW. Below yellowish-gray with bold black spots, and orange edges to submarginal black spots on HW, often forming solid band.

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Similar species: Best told from other Euphilotes blues by host-plant association, location and flight period.

 

Host plant: Eriogonum 

sphaerocephalum (rock buckwheat).

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Habitat: Well-drained sites where hostplant grows, including gravelly slopes and roadsides. ​

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Range: Harney County.

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Season: Late May to early July

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Abundance: Common

 

Conservation Status: Secure