Lotis Blue Butterfly Recovery Plan - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

diameter, No specimens of Bolander's sweet pea were noted in the bog.
kerweed (Lotus scoparius) was a1 so found on drier ground adjacent to
the bog site. However, no adults of the lotis blue butterfly were
found in association with either the deerweed or the sweet pea. Rice's
blue butterfly [Lycaeides arqyrognomon ricei (Cross)] in northern
California and the Anna blue butterfly [Lycaeides arqyrognomon - anna
(W. F. Edwards)] use other Lotus species as their larval food-plants
1
(J. Emmel and C. Kellner , per. comm). Lycaeides 5. ricei is
found in boggy meadows similar to L. a. lotis. Thus while the larval
foodplant of C. 5. lotis has not been positively identified, Lotus
formosissimus is the primary candidate.
Habitat Description
Historically, the lotis blue butterfly has been found in wet meadows
and sphagum-willow bogs (Tilden 1965). Today the lotis blue butterfly
is known only from a sphagnum bog in the Pygmy Forest, Mendocino
County, Cal i fornia. The bog i s surrounded by a cl osed-cone pine
forest, dominated primarily by Bishop pine (Pinus muricata) with an
ericaceous (Arctostaphylos, Kalmia, Gaul theria, etc. ) understory.
is bisected by a Pacific Gas and Electric Company power1 ine right-of-
way. Other tree species that occur sporadically in the overstory
Mr. Clinton Kellner, Department of Zoology, University of
California, Davis.
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