Celastrina lucia
Species of butterfly
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 | |
| Subspecies | |
| |
| Synonyms | |
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The wingspan is between 22–35 mm. Adults are sexually dimorphic. They are on wing from April to July.[3]
The larvae feed on Vaccinium species, including V. pallidum.
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)
Gallery
Variation in larval colour pattern of C. lucia found on Viburnum lentago (left column) and Cornus alternifolia (right column)
