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Shasta blue
Mt Charleston Blue Butterfly on rock.jpg
Mt Charleston Blue Butterfly.jpg
Scientific classification
Synonyms
  • Lycaena shasta Edwards, 1862
  • Lycaena zelmira C. & R. Felder, [1865]
  • Lycaena calchas Behr, 1867
  • Rusticus shasta (Edwards, 1862)
  • Aricia shasta (Edwards, 1862)
  • Lycaeides shasta (Edwards, 1862)
  • Plebejus shasta (Edwards, 1862)

Icaricia shasta, the Shasta blue, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found from the northwestern United States to southern Saskatchewan and Alberta.

The wingspan is 20–22 mm. Adults are on wing from June to August.

The larvae feed on Lupinus lyalli, Astragalus spatulatus, Astragalus calycosus, and Trifolium dasphyllum.

Subspecies

There are seven subspecies of Icaricia shasta.

  • I. s. charlestonensis Austin, 1980
  • I. s. calchas (Behr, 1867)
  • I. s. minnehaha (Scudder, 1874)
  • I. s. pallidissima (Austin in T. Emmel, 1998)
  • I. s. pitkinensis Ferris, 1976
  • I. s. platazul Scott, 2006
  • I. s. shasta (W. H. Edwards, 1862)
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