''Satyrium semiluna'', known generally as the sagebrush sooty hairstreak or half-moon hairstreak, is a species of

hairstreak The subfamily Theclinae is a group of butterflies, often referred to as hairstreaks, with some species instead known as elfins or by other names. The group is part of the family Lycaenidae, the "gossamer-winged butterflies". There are many tropi ...

in the

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprises ...

family

Lycaenidae Lycaenidae is the second-largest 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 the known butterfly ...

. It is found in North America. The MONA or Hodges number for ''Satyrium semiluna'' is 4277.1. Formerly included in '' Satyrium fuliginosa'', it is similar to the ''

Icaricia icarioides ''Icaricia icarioides'', or Boisduval's blue, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae found in North America. This butterfly has 25 recognized subspecies. This species has been classified in at least four different genera since it was named by ...

'' female. The latter species has range, flight-times and host plant overlaps. Unlike the ''

'' female, ''Satyrium semiluna'' lacks blue scales above, white fringe on the wings, and dark cell-end bar on the forward wing. Not present are the one to three basal black dots on the ventral hind wing that the ''

'' female usually has. The range of ''Satyrium semiluna'' is similar to that '' Satyrium behrii'' but does not extend as far south. ''Satyrium semiluna'' larvae feed on lupines, e.g., ''

Lupinus sericeus ''Lupinus sericeus'' is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name silky lupine or Pursh's silky lupine. It is native to western North America from British Columbia to Arizona and east to Alberta and Colorado. Thi ...

'' and ''

Lupinus lepidus ''Lupinus lepidus'', the Pacific lupine, prairie lupine or dwarf lupine is a perennial herbaceous plant in the pea family ( Fabaceae) endemic to western North America. Many varieties have been described, several of which are considered separate ...

''.

Subspecies

These two subspecies belong to the species ''Satyrium semiluna'': * ''Satyrium semiluna maculadistinctum'' Mattoon & Austin in T. Emmel, 1998 * ''Satyrium semiluna semiluna'' Klots, 1930

Subspecies

References

Further reading