Like many gossamer-winged butterflies, Sand Mountain blues have a close relationship with ants; in this case, desert carpenter ants feed on a sugary secretion of the larvae; whether the larvae also benefit or not is yet to be determined.

Once the larvae metamorphose into the pupal stage, rather than remaining fixed to buckwheat plant, the chrysalis drops into the leaf litter at the base.

[2][3] The species to which the Sand Mountain blue belongs, Euphilotes pallescens, has been officially classified as vulnerable, while the subspecies E. p. arenamontana itself has been labeled as critically imperiled, at great risk of extinction.

[1] In 2004 a petition was filed to investigate the status of the Sand Mountain blue and whether it should be placed on the endangered or threatened species lists.

[3] In March 2007, several off-road vehicle trails were closed off in order to protect the subspecies and its host plant from intrusion.