Celastrina neglecta
Celastrina neglecta, the summer azure, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in North America. Layberry, Hall, and Lafontaine, in The Butterflies of Canada, describe the species:
The upper surface is pale blue with an extensive dusting of white scales, especially on the hindwing. In some females the blue is almost entirely replaced by white with a small amount of blue near the wing bases. Females have a broad blackish-grey band on the outer third and costa of the forewing. The underside is chalky white to pale grey with tiny dark grey spots and a zigzagged submarginal line on the hindwing.[1]
Wingspan is Script error: No such module "convert"..
Known host plants for the caterpillars include New Jersey tea, dogwoods, and meadowsweet. Adults nectar from many plants including vetch, yarrow, meadowsweet, rough-fruited cinquefoil, Queen Anne's lace, wild oregano (Origanum vulgare), narrow-leaved mountain mint, Joe-pye weed, and goldenrods.[2]
The summer azure occurs across most of eastern and central United States as well as southern Canada from Nova Scotia to southern Saskatchewan. Adults fly from mid-June until early October with two or three generations in the south.[3]
The taxonomic status of this butterfly, originally described as Lycaena neglecta Edwards, 1862, has been in flux over the years. It was at one time treated as a synonym of Celastrina argiolus lucia (Lycaena lucia Kirby, 1837).[4]
Similar species
- Spring azure (C. ladon)
- Cherry gall azure (C. serotina)
- Holly azure (C. idella)
- Lucia azure (C. lucia)
References
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />
- ↑ Layberry, Ross. A., Peter Wl. Hall, and J. Donald Lafontaine. The Butterflies of Canada. University of Toronto Press, 1998. Reproduced with permission at Summer Azure, Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Jim P. Brock and K. Kaufman. Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies of North America, New York, NY:Houghton Mifflin, 2003.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
External links
Script error: No such module "Side box". Script error: No such module "Side box".
- Summer azure, Butterflies and Moths of North America