Western Pygmy Blues

Tremendous beauty can be found in the tiniest of things… for who has ever thought to rival that of a butterfly’s wing.. ~K. D’Angelo

With a wingspan measuring just under a half of an inch (1.2-2 cm) the Western Pygmy-Blue (Brephidium exilis) is the smallest butterfly known in North America. Western Pygmy-Blues are not primarily blue in color, as their name suggests, but are instead varying shades of a lovely iridescent hue.
Western Pygmy-Blues typically have coppery brown/blue dorsal wings, which shade to a brown ventral wing showing white dashes.
Western Pygmies also have four black dots near the base of the ventral hindwings and flaunt an arc of black silvery metallic dots along their far edge. These butterflies are also typically narrow to broadly fringed. Adults enjoy a variety of flower nectar, while caterpillars feed on host plants such as Saltbush (Atriplex) from the Goosefoot Family (Chenopodiaceae).

Although, these butterflies are little, indeed, I think all who come across them will agree, they are tiny treasures upon wing. ~ K. D’Angelo