This is the multiple-brooded, somewhat seasonally-polyphenic low-altitude member of the complex that usually breeds on the turfgrass Distichlis spicata (occasionally on Bermuda Grass in lawns). It is common at Suisun, West Sacramento and North Sacramento and may colonize briefly elsewhere at low elevation. Specimens appearing to be this entity also turn up sporadically at Sierra Valley. Males perch low, often on the ground, and are highly territorial. Both sexes visit low flowers, especially Heliotrope and Lippia.

This entity is neither the lowland P. s. sabuleti nor the high-montane P. s. tecumseh. It is marked as heavily as tecumseh (though the female ground color is generally paler here) and is as large as summer P. s. sabuleti, but with numerous pattern differences.

The Polites sabuleti complex may contain several genetic species. Tecumseh is the "high Sierran" subspecies, occurring from the vicinity of Bucks Lake south at mostly high altitudes and extending above tree-line in the south. It is small and heavily marked both above and below, but there is significant phenotypic and molecular variation among populations. The population at Donner Pass is typical in being univoltine and emerging in June-July (7000'). It can be quite abundant.

Common at all our mountain sites, from Lang Crossing to Sierra Valley. A species of wet meadows and streamsides, usually associated with the Greenish Blue (Plebejus saepiolus) and the Nevada Cloudy-Wing (Thorybes mexicana nevada). Perches on or near the ground; visits Aster, Goldenrod, pink pussy-paws and a great variety of flowers in bloom during its flight season. There is one brood, June-August, usually peaking early. The larval host plants are undetermined grasses.