This federally listed endangered subspecies of Euphilotes enoptes occurs in fragmented populations along the Central Coast of California, primarily associated with sand dune habitat in one case with a dune-based Maritime Coast Range Ponderosa Pine forest in the Carbonera Creek watershed in Santa Cruz County.

After emerging in August or September, adult butterflies mate and deposit eggs on the flowers of these host plants.

[4] Subsequent to several weeks of feeding and growth, the larvae molt to yield a pupal phase, starting a 41-week period of transformation.

Their single week of daytime-only flight is further limited to temperatures above 60°F and to times and locales where wind velocities are quite low.

Smith was killed in a freak accident, being swept to sea by a rogue wave while fishing from a rock at Half Moon Bay.

Only thereafter did Mattoni analyze his specimen carefully, which he knew was previously undocumented; then he proceeded to publish a treatise on Smith's blue as his Ph.D. dissertation.