Northern Azure
Celastrina lucia (W. Kirby, 1837)
Northern Azure: https://marylandbiodiversity.com/species/535
Synonyms
Hodges #4363.1 

Map Snapshot

15 Records

Status

Northern Azure (Celastrina lucia), as its name suggests, has a wide distribution in the north. This butterfly has long been considered as a northern subspecies of Spring Azure (C. ladon), though current systematics now treat it as a full species. This butterfly is known only from higher elevations of western Maryland, where it appears to use Black Cherry (Prunus serotina) as a larval host. In other parts of the range, it often uses various Vaccinium, especially lowbush blueberry (V. pallidum).

Seasonality Snapshot

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Source: Wikipedia

Celastrina lucia
Male, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Mer Bleue Conservation Area, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
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

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]

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

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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

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References

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  1. ^ Celastrina lucia at Markku Savela's website on Lepidoptera
  2. ^ Bug Guide
  3. ^ Fownes, Sherri; Schmidt, B. C. "Species Details Celastrina ladon lucia". University of Alberta Museums. E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum. Retrieved November 8, 2020.
  4. ^ Celastrina ladon complex - USA National Phenology Network