Summer Azure (Celastrina neglecta [W.H. Edwards])
Wing span: 15/16 - 1 1/8 inches (2.4 - 2.9 cm).
Identification: Upperside of male powdery blue often with ill-defined white patch on hindwing. Female with much white scaling on both forewings and hindwings. Underside of hindwing pale gray or white with small black dots and submarginal dark zigzag line.
Life history: Caterpillars eat flowers. Chrysalids overwinter until flower late spring or summer.
Flight: One flight from June to October.
Caterpillar hosts: Racemose dogwood, New Jersey Tea, and other plants.
Adult food: Flower nectar.
Habitat: Various habitats including stream valleys, powerline right-of-ways, gardens.
Range: Most of eastern and central United States as well as southern Canada.
Conservation: Not necessary.
The Nature Conservancy Global Rank: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management needs: None reported.
References:
Layberry, R.A., P.W. Hall, and J.D. Lafontaine. 1998. The Butterflies of Canada. University of Toronto Press, Toronto. 282 pages, 32 color plates. Opler, P.A. 1999. A field guide to western butterflies. Houghton-Mifflin Co., Boston, Mass. 540 pages, 44 color plates. Stanford, R. E. and P. A. Opler. 1993. Atlas of western USA butterflies including adjacent parts of Canada and Mexico. Denver and Fort Collins, CO.
Author: Paul A. Opler
State and Regional References:
Layberry, R.A., Hall, P.W. & Lafontaine, D.J., 1998. The Butterflies of Canada. University of Toronto Press, Toronto, ON. 280 pp. Mather, B. and Mather, K. 1958. The Butterflies of Mississippi. Tulane Studies in Zoology 6:63-109. Opler, P.A. 1998. A field guide to eastern butterflies, revised format. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.