Three Acre Tablea garden, a kitchen, a good excuse to gather
Celastrina spp.
Plate — illustration to come
ButterflyNative · New Jersey

Azure Butterflies

Celastrina spp.

Lycaenidae

Tiny sky-blue butterflies that appear in April like a hallucination — flashes of pale blue no larger than a fingernail, gone before you can focus. Spring Azure comes first, in March or April; Summer Azure follows in June. Both are important early-season pollinators.

Identify by

How to spot one.

  • 0.75–1 inch wingspan — tiny

  • Pale blue upper wings (males), gray-blue (females)

  • White underside with small dark dots

  • Fast, low, erratic flight

Life & behavior

How it lives.

Multiple broods. Spring Azure adults emerge in March-April; Summer Azure in June and again in August. Females lay single eggs on flower buds of larval host plants. Caterpillars often 'farm' by ants: they secrete honeydew that ants collect, and ants defend them from predators.

At a glance

The spec sheet.

Type
Butterfly
Active
March – September
Native to NJ
Yes
Conservation status
stable
Family
Lycaenidae
In the group

Notable species.

Species you’re most likely to see, plus any of conservation concern.

  • Spring Azure

    Celastrina ladon

    First butterfly of the year in NJ — mid-March in warm years

  • Summer Azure

    Celastrina neglecta

    Second and third broods; June through August

Plants it uses

What it needs.

Plants this species visits, feeds on, or depends on. Names in hydrangea link to the plant’s Field Guide entry.

Sources

NJ Butterflies · Xerces Society

More butterflys

Others in this group.