
A male Fender's blue butterfly resting on a bracken fern. This individual is getting ragged with age and starting to lose the bright blue coloration on the wings.

A female Fender's blue butterfly laying eggs on the underside of a Kincaid's lupine leaf. She has more coppery colored upper wings than the male.

A small meadow near Corvallis, dominated by introduced grasses such as false brome, but including Kincaid's lupine and nectar-producing native plants

Kincaid's lupine is the preferred host plant for Fender's blue butterfly

Oregon iris is one of several native plants that provide a nectar source for butterflies

Peter Moore with butterfly net

The underwing pattern of dots are key features for identifying Fender's as compared to the more common silvery blue butterfly

Silvery blue butterflies lack the second outer row of dots on the underside of the wings

A male Fender's blue butterfly feeding on nectar from a vetch flower. Some individuals have a less distinct outer row of dots on the underwing.

Other pollinators, such as this Propertius duskywing butterfly, also depend on healthy prairies and oak habitats.