 | Spring Azure / Summer Azure Butterfly - Celastrina ladon Aka Summer Azure, Holly Azure / Family: Lycaenidae (Harvesters, coppers, hairstreaks, and blues) / Subfamily Polyommatinae / Species: Celastrina ladon Live adult butterflies photographed in the wild at Winfield, Illinois, USA. |
 Summer Azure Butterfly |
 | These azures were all photographed in the month of July, near the west branch of the DuPage River in northern Illinois. I suppose, therefore, that they are summer azures (Celastina ladon neglecta); I do not see these butterflies here at any time of year other than deep summer. These are small butterflies (about the size of a U.S. dime), very erratic flyers and difficult to catch sitting still for long. |  |
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This butterfly is part of what has been called the "Spring Azure Complex" - that is, several species of butterflies so closely related and similar in appearance that even experts have trouble telling them apart. They are variously known as Spring Azure, Summer Azure, Hops Azure and Holly Azure, et al. Until recently, all North American azures were thought of as one wildly variable species, and their classification is still being studied. It has been suggested that the layman simply enjoy these butterflies as azures and leave it at that. |
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