BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary
Plebejus idas
Northern Blue
| Scientific Name: | Plebejus idas (Linnaeus, 1760) | ||||||||||
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| Scientific Name Synonyms: |
Lycaeides idas
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| English Name: | Northern Blue | ||||||||||
| Classification / Taxonomy | |||||||||||
| Scientific Name - Concept Reference: | Pelham, J. P. 2008. A catalogue of the butterflies of the United States and Canada with a complete bibliography of the descriptive and systematic literature. The Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera. Volume 40. 658 pp. Revised 14 February, 2012. | ||||||||||
| Classification Level: | Species | ||||||||||
| Taxonomy Comments: | SName changed from Lycaeides idas to Plebejus idas to align with NatureServe (Feb 23, 2005 - DW). | ||||||||||
| Species Group: | Invertebrate Animal | ||||||||||
| Species Code: | LE-PLEIDA | ||||||||||
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| Conservation Status / Legal Designation | |||||||||||
| Global Status: | G5 (Oct 2023) | ||||||||||
| Provincial Status: | S5 (Feb 2020) | ||||||||||
| BC List: | Yellow | ||||||||||
| Provincial FRPA list: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Wildlife Act: | |||||||||||
| COSEWIC Status: | |||||||||||
| SARA Schedule: | |||||||||||
| General Status Canada: | 6 - Not Assessed (2000) | ||||||||||
| Ecology & Life History | |||||||||||
| General Description: | |||||||||||
| Migration Characteristics: (Global / Provincial) | |||||||||||
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Nonmigrant: Local Migrant: Distant Migrant: Within Borders Migrant: |
N / N / N / na / |
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| Habitats: (Type / Subtype / Dependence) |
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| Global Habitat Comments: | This species is found in openings in hardwood mixed conifer forests, including rights-of-ways, in sandy soils and rocky outcrops as well as wetlands and coastal bogs (Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife 2016; Minnesota Department of Natural Resources 2023; Michigan Natural Features Inventory 2023; Lotts and Naberhaus 2023). | ||||||||||
| Food Habits: |
Herbivore:Immature
Nectarivore: Adult |
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| Global Food Habits Comments: | Caterpillar Hosts: Plants of the heath family (Ericaceae) in the East; legumes of the pea family (Fabaceae) in the West. Adult Food: Nectar from flowers including yarrow; dogbane; orange hawkweed; and white, alsike, and hop clover (Lotts and Naberhaus 2017). | ||||||||||
| Global Phenology: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Phenology: (1st half of month/ 2nd half of month) |
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| Colonial Breeder: | N | ||||||||||
| Length(cm)/width(cm)/Weight(g): | / / | ||||||||||
| Elevation (m) (min / max): |
Global:
Provincial: |
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| Distribution | |||||||||||
| Endemic: | N | ||||||||||
| Global Range Comment: | In the Nearctic, this species occurs in Alaska, USA and across Canada, from Yukon and British Columbia to Labrador, as well as throughout the Pacific Northwest, Rocky Mountains, northern Great Lakes region, and Maine in the northeastern United States; this species also occurs in Europe and Asia (GBIF 2023; SCAN 2023; iNaturalist 2023). | ||||||||||
| Authors / Contributors | |||||||||||
| Global Information Author: | T. Cornelisse | ||||||||||
| Last Updated: | Oct 06, 2023 | ||||||||||
| Provincial Information Author: | |||||||||||
| Last Updated: | |||||||||||
| References and Related Literature | |||||||||||
Lotts, K. and T. Naberhaus, coordinators. 2023. Butterflies and Moths of North America (BAMONA). Bozeman, MT: Big Sky Institute. Online. Available: http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/ |
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Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW). 2016. Maine?s wildlife action plan. SGCN report. Maine Dept. of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, Augusta, ME. 395 pp |
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Michigan Natural Features Inventory. 2025. Rare Species Explorer (Web Application). Available online at http://mnfi.anr.msu.edu/explorer |
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Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Division of Ecological and Water Resources. 2023. Rare Species Guide: an online encyclopedia of Minnesota's rare native plants and animals [web application]. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, St. Paul. Online. Available: https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/rsg |
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Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.
Suggested Citation:
B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 2023. Species Summary: Plebejus idas. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 5, 2026).