''Euphilotes rita'', the rita blue or desert buckwheat blue, is a species of

butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

of the family

Lycaenidae Lycaenidae is the second-largest family (biology), family of butterflies (behind Nymphalidae, brush-footed butterflies), with over 6,000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies. They constitute about 30% of ...

. It is found in

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

and northern

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. The species was first described by

William Barnes William Barnes (22 February 1801 – 7 October 1886) was an English polymath, writer, poet, philologist, priest, mathematician, engraving artist and inventor. He wrote over 800 poems, some in Dorset dialect, and much other work, including a co ...

and

James Halliday McDunnough James Halliday McDunnough (10 May 1877 – 23 February 1962) was a Canadians, Canadian Linguistics, linguist, musician, and Entomology, entomologist best known for his work with North American Lepidoptera, but who also made important contributio ...

in 1916. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...

is 17–22 mm. Adults are on wing from July to late September in one generation per year. They feed on the flower nectar of ''

Eriogonum ''Eriogonum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Polygonaceae. The genus is found in North America and is known as wild buckwheat. This is a highly species-rich genus, and indications are that active speciation is continuing. It incl ...

'' species. Its habitats include juniper-pinyon woodlands, sand dunes, oak woodland, and prairie grasslands. The larvae feed on the flowers and fruits of wild ''Eriogonum'' species, including '' Eriogonum effusum'', '' Eriogonum flavum'', '' Eriogonum leptocladon'', ''

Eriogonum racemosum ''Eriogonum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Polygonaceae. The genus is found in North America and is known as wild buckwheat. This is a highly species-rich genus, and indications are that active speciation is continuing. It incl ...

'' and '' Eriogonum wrightii''. The larvae are tended by ants. Adults feed on nectar from host plants and seep-willow.

Subspecies

*''Euphilotes rita rita'' *''Euphilotes rita coloradensis'' (Mattoni, 1966) *''Euphilotes rita mattoni'' (Shields, 1975) *''Euphilotes rita emmeli'' (Shields, 1975)

References

Butterflies described in 1916 Euphilotes Butterflies of North America {{Polyommatini-stub