The Arctic Blue or Glandon Blue (Agriades glandon) is a butterfly of the Lycaenidae family. In North America it is found from Alaska east to Newfoundland, south through the mountains to Washington, northern Arizona, and northern New Mexico. In Europe, it is found in mountainous areas like the Pyrenees and Alps, as well as the far north. It is also found in parts of Russia, including Siberia, and Kamchatka.

The wingspan is 17–26 mm. The butterfly flies from mid-May to September depending on the location (Butterflies of Canada).

Recorded food plants include Astragalus species (including Astragalus alpinus), Androsace species (including Androsace bungeana and Androsace septentrionalis), Soldanella, Diapensia, Vaccinium, and Saxifraga species (including Saxifraga bronchialis, Saxifraga spinulosa, and Saxifraga oppositifolia).

occurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations

Canada

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

United States

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

Global Range: (>2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)) Eastern Alaska east to Labrador; south to Sierra Nevada of California, the mountains of Arizona and New Mexico, and the Black Hills of South Dakota.

• Terrestrial

Comments: Arctic tundra, subarctic and subalpine forests, mountain meadows, bogs.

Non-Migrant: No. All populations of this species make significant seasonal migrations.

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make local extended movements (generally less than 200 km) at particular times of the year (e.g., to breeding or wintering grounds, to hibernation sites).

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make annual migrations of over 200 km.

Note: For many non-migratory species, occurrences are roughly equivalent to populations.

Estimated Number of Occurrences: 81 to >300

10,000 to >1,000,000 individuals

In Scandinavia, the Arctic Blue occurs above the timber line, mainly on south facing slopes with slate and shale rocks with patches of low alpine vegetation, particularly in areas with limestone or otherwise mineral rich ground. The females deposit the eggs on Yellow Mountain Saxifrage (Saxifraga aizoides) and Purple Saxifrage (Saxifraga oppositifolia). The small caterpillars first feed on the flower buds and hibernate. Later, they also feed on the leaves. The Arctic Blue is single-brooded.

Canada

Rounded National Status Rank: N5 - Secure

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: N5 - Secure

Rounded Global Status Rank: G5 - Secure

Reasons: Widespread and common in boreal western North America.

Degree of Threat: D : Unthreatened throughout its range, communities may be threatened in minor portions of the range or degree of variation falls within natural variation

Global Protection: Many to very many (13 to >40) occurrences appropriately protected and managed

The Arctic Blue, Plebejus (Agriades) aquilo, is a holarctic butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. The circumscription of this species is problematic since there are no genitalic characteristics to distinguish it from the closely related Glandon Blue, Plebejus (Agriades) glandon (Nekrutenko 1974, Pelham 2011). Some authors therefore treat it as a subspecies of Plebejus glandon (Karsholt & Razowski 1996, van Swaay et al. 1999).

Comments: This database follows the arrangement presented by Pelham (2008). In the last half century the names glandon, aquilo, franklinii and rustica have all been applied at the species-level to some or all populations of this complex in North America (e.g. Miller and Brown (1981), Ferris (1989), and Opler (1992, 1999)). It is unclear whether or not the name aquilo should be applied to the North American fauna. Until a lectotype or neotype for aquilo is designated, this issue will remain problematic. Nekrutenko (1974) showed that there are no consistent genitalic characteristics by which glandon and aquilo may be separated. Yakovlev and Churkin (2003) and Churkin (2005) discussed the use of the name glandon for all of these populations. Since no thorough analysis of North American populations has yet been presented, Pelham (2008) states that the arrangement is tentative.

Opler and Warren (2002) followed the treatment presented by Gorbunov (2001).