Satyrium fuliginosum semiluna

Common Name
Sooty Gossamer-Wing

This subspecies is a little smaller and grayer than nominate fuliginosum, and the male has a stigma. It occurs widely in the central and southern Sierra and in the northern Great Basin. There is at least one population in Siera Valley which, however, has only been found once at our study site. Males perch atop sagebrush in the midst of shrub-steppe. Both sexes can be found far from any blooming nectar sources, but they do visit Yarrow, Brassicaceae (e.g. Cardaria pubescens) and Sulphur Flower (Eriogonum umbellatum).