Food
sources utilized by the Larva of the Acmon Blue Butterfly
 The
Acmon Blue butterfly larvae live on a variety of food plants such
as Shadscale
(Atriplex canescens),
Buckwheat
(Eriogonum spp.),
Rock
Cress (Dudleya spp.),
but many of the food plants, including
(Lupinus
spp.),
Astragalus sp., and Lotus
spp.,
are in the Legume family (Fabaceae).
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 The
Blues are small, exquisitely beautiful butterflies that are
usually colored blue (on the top of their wings). The disposition
of this butterfly is very apparent as you try to get a closeup.
 Hey,
I'm a tough guy, don't bug me. From the view finder it looks like
a Chihuahua dressed in a fuzzy suit with blue lacy bat wings.
Sometimes they will not stay on a desired flower longer than a
few seconds because they're chasing off anything that looks like
another butterfly. Skippers can get near at their peril. There's
a crazy little guy in a butterfly suit that will fly in their
face until they leave.
Food sources utilized by the adult Acmon Blue
Butterfly
In a
native garden the adult Acmon Blue butterfly feeds on Milkweed
flowers. The large flower clusters are made up of small and
easily accessible. They can also be seen on Baccharis
douglassii, Marsh Baccharis This
plant grows in a similar manner to the narrow leaf milkweed.
Flowers white and small in large clusters. Some of the adults
also feed upon buckwheat
flowers.
Buckwheats of all kinds are popular with these butterflies as
well as many other species. Plant a buckwheat in the garden and
save more than one butterfly.
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