Western Pygmy-Blue Butterfly

For being the smallest butterfly in North America with a wing span of ½ to ¾ inch, this insect fulfills a big and important role in the San Francisco Bay tidal marsh ecosystem. It pollinates the native marsh plants as it drinks nectar from their tiny flowers, which helps the plants reproduce and provide shelter and food for rails, harvest mice, and other marsh residents.

1 of 6 in this collection