Polyommatinae

Polyommatinae
Common Grass Blue
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
(unranked):	Rhopalocera
Superfamily:	Papilionoidea
Family:	Lycaenidae
Subfamily:	Polyommatinae
Tribes
Candalidini Lycaenesthini Niphandini Polyommatini and see text

Polyommatinae, the blues, are a subfamily of gossamer-winged butterflies (Lycaenidae). It was long used to assign taxa of unclear relationships, and its contents are in need of revision. Several genera might not even belong here.

Notable taxa

• Celastrina ladon, Spring Azure
• Celastrina neglecta, Summer Azure
• Everes comyntas, Eastern-tailed Blue
• Euphilotes battoides allyni, El Segundo Blue
• Euphilotes pallescens arenamontana, Sand Mountain Blue
• Glaucopsyche lygdamus palosverdesensis, Palos Verdes Blue
• Glaucopsyche xerces, Xerces Blue – extinct (1941)
• Icaricia icarioides fenderi, Fender's Blue
• Plebejus argus, Silver-studded Blue
• Polyommatus icarus, Common Blue
• Polyommatus semiargus, Mazarine Blue
• Pseudozizeeria maha, Pale Grass Blue

Genera incertae sedis

These genera are of unclear affinities.

• Agriades – Polyommatini? (often included in Plebejus)
• Albulina – Polyommatini? (often included in Plebejus)
• Athysanota
• Boliviella
• Bothrinia
• Caerulea
• Cherchiella
• Chilades – Polyommatini?
• Cyclirius
• Eldoradina
• Elkalyce
• Facula
• Glabroculus

• Harpendyreus – Polyommatini?
• Itylos
• Lycaeides (often included in Plebejus)
• Madeleinea
• Maslowskia
• Micropsyche
• Oboronia
• Orachrysops – Polyommatini?
• Oraidium
• Orthomiella
• Otnjukovia
• Palaeophilotes – Polyommatini?
• Pallidula
• Phengaris
• Phlyaria

• Pistoria – Polyommatini?
• Praephilotes – Polyommatini?
• Pseudophilotes – Polyommatini?
• Shijimia
• Sinia
• Sinocupido – Polyommatini?
• Subsolanoides – Polyommatini?
• Talicada
• Thermoniphas
• Tongeia
• Turanana
• Tuxentius – Polyommatini?

Doubtful Polyommatinae

The genera in this list are considered Polyommatinae by some authors, but at least some belong elsewhere:

• Lepidochrysops – Polyommatini? Lycaeninae?
• Paralycaeides – Polyommatini? Lycaeninae?
• Uranothauma – Lycaeninae?

References

• Eliot, J. N. and Kawazoe, A., 1983. Blue butterflies of the Lycaenopsis group: 1-309, 6 pls. London.
• Hirowatari, T., 1992. A generic classification of the tribe Polyommatini of the Oriental and Australian regions (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae, Polyommatinae). Bulletin of the University of Osaka Prefecture(B), 44(Suppl.)

Further reading

• Glassberg, Jeffrey Butterflies through Binoculars, The West (2001)
• Guppy, Crispin S. and Shepard, Jon H. Butterflies of British Columbia (2001)
• James, David G. and Nunnallee, David Life Histories of Cascadia Butterflies (2011)
• Pelham, Jonathan Catalogue of the Butterflies of the United States and Canada (2008)
• Pyle, Robert Michael The Butterflies of Cascadia (2002)

External links

• Butterflies and Moths of North America
• Butterflies of America