A female Lupine Blue, Plebejus lupini monticola. Acmon Blues in the general vicinity are smaller, and this blue had a definite orange color to the aurora, plus this distinctive 'denim' blue on the dorsal side. May 6, 2006.

This is a male Lupine Blue, subspecies monticola, along the Angeles Crest Highway in the San Gabriels. It was noticeably larger than acmon, and both the sky blue and deep orange hues struck me as very different from the hundreds of Acmon Blues I had seen in years past. May 15, 2007.

Almost certainly a male lupini monticola; note thick black border of the forewing. This was in a patch of E. fasiculatum on Hwy 38 near Mtn Home Village. May 1, 2008. These looked darker and smaller to me than the populations in the San Gabriels. Some Acmon and Lupine Blues are very difficult to distinguish, and they vary from place-to-place.

Ventral of a Lupine Blue. Below they are pretty similar to the Acmon and Veined Blues.

Another ventral Lupine Blue, subspecies monticola. Same individual as above; San Gabriels, May 6, 2006.