Plebejus
genus of insects
Plebejus is a genus of butterflies in the family Lycaenidae.
Its species are found in the Palearctic and Nearctic realms.
Taxonomy
As a result of studies of molecular phylogenetics, numerous species that were included in Plebejus by some authors at the beginning of the 21st century have now been moved to separate genera again. These species may be found in Afarsia, Alpherakya, Agriades, Aricia, Eumedonia, Icaricia, Kretania, Maurus, Pamiria, Patricius, Plebejidea, Plebulina, and Rueckbeilia.
Species
Species include:
The ardis species-group:
Plebejus eversmanni (Lang, 1884) Kopet-Dagh, Ghissar, Darvaz, Pamirs-Alai, Tian-Shan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan
Plebejus baroghila (Tytler, 1926) Himalayas
Plebejus firuskuhi (Forster, 1940) Afghanistan
Plebejus kwaja (Evans, 1932) Baluchistan
The argus species-group:
Plebejus aegidion (Gerhard, 1851) Central Asia
Plebejus argus (Linnaeus, 1758) – silver-studded blue
The idas species-group (a.k.a. subgenus Lycaeides):
Plebejus agnata (Rühl, 1895)
Plebejus argyrognomon (Bergsträsser, [1779]) – Reverdin's blue
Plebejus pseudaegon (Butler, [1882]) Ussuri, North China, North Korea, Japan
Plebejus sinica (Forster, 1936) Sichuan
Plebejus maracandica (Erschoff, 1874) Russia, Transbaikalia, Yakutia, Magadan. Mongolia, Kamchatka
Plebejus caspica (Forster, 1936) South Urals
Plebejus lepidus Zhdanko, 2000 Kazakhstan
Plebejus uiguricus Zhdanko, 2000 ltai, Saur, Tarbagatai Mts., Dzhungarsky Alatau
Plebejus mongolicus Rühl, [1893] Transbaikalia, Amur, Mongolia
Plebejus baldur (Hemming, 1934) Kurdistan, Levant
Plebejus bellieri (Oberthür, 1910) Corsica
Plebejus argiva (Staudinger, 1886) Kazakhstan, Alai
Plebejus christophi (Staudinger, 1874) – small jewel blue
Plebejus anikini Yakovlev, 2012 Mongolia
Plebejus germani Yakovlev, 2012 Mongolia
Plebejus roxane (Grum-Grshimailo, 1887) Tajikistan, Afghanistan
Plebejus idas (Linnaeus, 1761) – Idas blue or northern blue
Plebejus ganssuensis (Grum-Grshimailo, 1891) Kuku-Noor, China
Plebejus nushibi Zhdanko, 2000 Kazakhstan
Plebejus calliopis (Boisduval, 1832) Alps, boreal Europe and Transcaucasia to Russian Far East and Kamchatka
Plebejus anna (Edwards, 1861) – Anna's blue
Plebejus melissa (Edwards, 1873) – Melissa blue or orange-bordered blue
Plebejus fridayi (Chermock, 1945) Oregon
Plebejus nevadensis (Oberthür, 1910) Iberia
Plebejus tomyris (Grum-Grshimailo, 1890) Amur
Plebejus samudra (Moore, [1875]) Northwest India, Hindu Kush
Plebejus rogneda (Grum-Grshimailo, 1890) Kashgar, Darvaz, Pamirs, Transalai
Plebejus subsolanus (Eversmann, 1851) Transbaikalia, Amur, Ussuri, Mongolia, Korea, Japan.
“Plebejus” enters the record as genus of insects. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Plebejus, genus and insects can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Plebejus” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Plebejus, genus and insects provides the most credible route into that argument.
Datasets, specimens, observations and peer-reviewed methods provide the appropriate test for the technical claims summarized here. The source revision retrieved here is dated Oct 4, 2023. The linked authority identifier is Q1237311. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1884, 1926, 1940 and 1932.
Current terminology should not be projected backward without checking the classification used when the underlying evidence was created. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Check terminology, classification and the date of the cited evidence. Scientific names and technical consensus can change while older records retain historical value.
- Current terminology
- Classification context
- Finding cited technical literature
Primary datasets, specimen catalogues, standards bodies and the most recent peer-reviewed literature.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Plebejus”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Plebejus primary sources, Plebejus archive and Plebejus research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Plebejus”?
- Which observation, specimen, dataset or publication supports the account?
- Has classification or technical consensus changed since the cited source?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Plebejus” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.