Stats

Lifespan

A few weeks

Size

Small

Diet

Herbivore

Activity

Diurnal

Social

Solitary

Biome

Temperate grassland

Range

North America

Movement

Flight

Breeding

Egg-laying

Defense

Camouflage

Status

Common

About

A small, fast-flying gossamer-wing butterfly whose males flash brilliant iridescent blue on the upper side of their wings. Despite its delicate size, the Marine Blue migrates hundreds of miles northward each summer, breeding on legumes and plumbago as far north as Kansas before autumn retreats it back south.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   egg

   A tiny ribbed egg laid on the underside of a host-plant leaf, hatching within days.
2. 2.
   caterpillar

   A voracious caterpillar feeds and molts through several instars, growing rapidly.
3. 3.
   chrysalis

   A chrysalis hangs sealed and still while the body remodels into a winged adult.
4. 4.
   butterfly

   A winged adult with full scales and coloration, ready to fly and mate.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Lepidoptera

Family

Lycaenidae

Genus

Leptotes

Species

Leptotes marina