Sand Mountain Blue Butterfly

(Euphilotes pallescens arenamontana)

The Sand Mountain blue butterfly (Euphilotes pallescens arenamontana) is in the family Lycaenidae, the gossamer winged butterflies, which includes blue, hairstreak, harvester, and copper butterflies. It has a wingspan of slightly less than an inch when fully expanded.

This butterfly is known to exist only at Sand Mountain, a large dune located in Churchill County east of Fallon, Nevada. The butterfly is closely associated with its host plant, the Kearney buckwheat (Eriogonum nummulare) which grows within the dune system. This wild buckwheat is the only food source for the butterfly larvae. The larvae grow into pupae, which mature in the layer of leaves that fall from the plant. Kearney buckwheat also provides nectar for adult butterflies during their emergence between mid-July and mid-September. Individual Sand Mountain blue butterflies have a life span of only about a week during this period.

Sand Mountain is public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management as a designated off-highway-vehicle recreation area. A study of aerial photos and satellite imagery has documented a significant loss of vegetative cover since 1979. During this time, visitor use increased from about 5,000 to over 35,000 visitors annually.

The Service is currently working with the Lahontan Valley Environmental Alliance to develop a conservation strategy to reduce threats to the butterfly and restore habitat at Sand Mountain. A petition to list the Sand Mountain blue butterfly was received by the Service in April, 2004, that requires the Service to make a determination on whether there was substantial information to initiate a status review of the butterfly. To view the petition, please use the link below (04/23/2004).

Actions / Current Information:

05/02/2007 12 Month Review of Sand Mountain Blue Butterfly Found Listing Not Warranted   Federal Register Notice: Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 12-Month Finding on a Petition to List the Sand Mountain Blue Butterfly (Euphilotes pallescens ssp. arenamontana) as Threatened or Endangered with Critical Habitat   Questions and Answers - Sand Mountain Blue Butterfly 12-Month Finding 08/08/2006 News Release: U.S. Fish and Wiildlife Service to Initiate a Status Review of the Sand Mountain Blue Butterfly   Federal Register Notice: Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 90-Day Finding on a Petition to List the Sand Mountain Blue Butterfly as Threatened or Endangeredwith Critical Habitat   FAQs: Questions and Answers Sand Mountain Blue Butterfly 90-Day Finding 4/23/2004 Petition to list the Sand Mountain blue butterflyas a threatenered or endangered species (1.24 MB PDF)