Celastrina lucia

Celastrina lucia, the lucia azure, northern azure, eastern spring azure or northern spring azure, is a species of butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found eastern North America, ranging from the Maritimes south through the Appalachian Mountains to West Virginia.[2]

Celastrina lucia
Male, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Mer Bleue Conservation Area, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family:
Lycaenidae
Genus:
Celastrina
Species:
C. lucia
Binomial name
Celastrina lucia
(Kirby, 1837)[1]
Subspecies
  • C. l. lucia
  • C. l. lumarco Scott, 2006
Synonyms
  • Lycaena lucia Kirby, 1837
  • Lycaena marginata Edwards, 1883
  • Celastrina fumida (Scudder, 1889)
  • Celastrina pseudora (Scudder, 1889)
  • Celastrina brunnea Tutt, 1908
  • Celastrina subtusjuncta Tutt, 1908
  • Celastrina inaequalis Tutt, 1908
  • Celastrina ladon lucia

The wingspan is between 22–35 mm. Adults are sexually dimorphic. The dorsal wing surface of males is blue, while females have a broad, dark brown outer forewing margin. They are on wing from April to July.[3]

The larvae feed on Vaccinium species, including V. pallidum. The larvae may be green, yellow, pink or brown, depending on their food source.

Taxonomy

Until the early 1990s, most North American azures were thought to be a single species, Celastrina ladon. More recently, research has revealed that there are many different species of azures, including C. lucia,[4] which had been treated as a subspecies of C. ladon.

Similar species
  • Cherry gall azure (C. serotina)
  • Holly azure (C. idella)
  • Spring azure (C. ladon)
  • Summer azure (C. neglecta)
gollark: ... wait, I used actual autobotrobot, foolish apioformic me.
gollark: Wait, hmm.
gollark: Great, that seems to have fixed it?
gollark: ++remind 64m 64m test
gollark: ++remind 32m 32m test

References
  1. Celastrina lucia at Markku Savela's website on Lepidoptera
  2. Bug Guide
  3. University of Alberta E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum
  4. Celastrina ladon complex - USA National Phenology Network


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