Plebejus melissa "Melissa Blue" Butterfly
Historical artifact -- Specimen, Animal
Identifier:
G17Description
A male Plebejus melissa butterfly collected by Will Minor on September 8th, 1928 in Fruita, ColoradoLepidoptera specimen, pressed inside of an almost flat, square, plastic container. There is a raised "bubble" in the center of the plastic that houses the body of the specimen. Underside of specimen is iridescent, blue/purple, with short, white "fringe" on the edge of the wings. The opposing side of the wings is mostly white with details of orange, dark brown/black, and metallic (silver?) dots.
Its body, on the underside, is fuzzy and blue with some white details. The opposing side of the body is white, slightly fuzzy. There is a small pin driven through the middle of the body. It antenna are striped with white and dark brown/black.