Reakirt's blue
Males and females both show a neat row of five white-ringed black spots across the underside of the forewing, the clearest way to name this small blue.
| Where | Open fields, roadsides, legume patches |
|---|---|
| Size | 19 to 32 mm wingspan |
| When | March to December |
Reakirt's blue is a small butterfly with a lavender-blue upperside in males, duller with blue mostly at the wing bases in females. The underside is pale gray marked with a row of five white-ringed black spots on the forewing along with scattered dark bars, and the wingspan runs from about 19 to 32 mm.
Caterpillars feed on flowers and tender leaves of legumes such as milkvetch, alfalfa, sweetclover and mesquite, and ants often tend the caterpillars in exchange for sugary secretions. The species breeds year round in the far south and strays north each summer, in some years reaching almost to the Canadian border.
Traits
Habitat
Grassland
Colour
Blue, Grey, White
Active
Day
To people
Harmless to people; caterpillars are tended by ants rather than causing any harm to humans.
Activity through the year
Often confused with
Lacks the bold row of white-ringed black spots on the forewing underside that marks Reakirt's blue, showing much plainer markings there instead.
Questions
Is the Reakirt's blue dangerous to people?
Harmless to people; caterpillars are tended by ants rather than causing any harm to humans.
When can you see the Reakirt's blue?
The Reakirt's blue can be seen from March to December, by day.
Plate retouched from a photo by swells, CC0, iNaturalist Licence
Report a mistake in this entry
Butterflies and moths›Blues and coppers›Echinargus
Last updated 2026-09-27. Every entry is checked against published sources.