Alabama Butterfly Atlas

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Stray, Accidental, or Historic

Reakirt's Blue Echinargus isola

Reakirt's Blue (Echinargus isola)

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Butterfly: Wingspan: ¾ - 1¼" (1.9 - 2.8 cm) Male upperside wings are blue; females have dusky-brown wings with blue toward the body.  Two hindwing spots are present but lack any orange pigment.  Underside wings are whitish-gray with a distinctive row of black forewing spots rimmed with white.  The black spots continue around the hindwingwing, with several small spots and one to three larger black spots.  Hindwing spots lack the orange color seen in many blues and hairstreaks.

ID TIp:  Row of round, white-rimmed back spots on underside of forewing is disctinctive,

Egg: Whitish, turban-shaped egg laid singly on host plan, often on buds.

Caterpillar: Caterpillars are variable in color, depending to some extent on the coloration of the host plant they are eating.  May be green with with light lateral line and light chevrons; brown with shades of pink and tan; brown with lighter chevrons.

Chrysalis: Typical pellet-shaped chrysalis.  May be greenish or light brown.

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Reakirt's Blues are well known vagrants.  In the United States, their home base is Texas and the southwestern states, but they typically emigrate northward, colonizing the midwestern states and sometimes straying into Canada. They expand eastward as well, often reaching western Mississippi.  A Reakirt's Blue occassionally shows up in Alabama.

Distribution and Abundance

A dot on the county map indicates that there is at least one documented record of the species within that county. In some cases, a species may be common throughout the county, in others it may be found in only a specific habitat. The High Count information shows the highest numbers recorded for this species as well as when and where they occurred.

The sightings bar graphs depict the timing of flight(s) within each of three geographic regions. Place your cursor on a bar within the graph to see the number of individuals recorded during that period.

The abundance calendar displays the total number of individuals recorded within each week of the month. Both the graphs and the calendar are on based data collection that began in 2000.

The records analyzed here are only a beginning. As more data is collected, these maps and graphs will paint a more accurate picture of distribution and abundance in Alabama. Submit your sightings to albutterflyatlas@gmail.com.

Sightings in the following counties: Jefferson

  • Map Symbol for Recent Sightings Sightings in the past 5 years
  • Map Symbol for Semi-Recent Sightings Sightings in the past 5 - 10 years
  • Map Symbol for Old Sightings Sightings more than 10 years ago

High count(s):

  • 1 - Jefferson - 7/7/1999
County Distribution Map

View county names by moving the mouse over a county or view a map with county names

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
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Habitat

Old fields, disturbed areas, utility-line cuts, roadsides. 

Host and Nectar Plants

Many legumes are listed in other regions.

No host plant has been verified in Alabama.