Butterfly: Wingspan: ¾ - 1¾ inches (2.2 - 3.5 cm) UPPER SURFACE (dorsal) Blue or violet blue. Male with thin black forewing border. Female border much wider; row of dark spots along hindwing edge. UNDER SURFACE (ventral) Medium gray. Various small dark markings. Hindwing fringes are checkered. Typically smaller than Summer Azures.
ID Tip: Look for violet color in flight. Hindwing fringe is typically checkered.
Egg: Whitish; flattened disc. Placed singly on or near flower buds.
Caterpillar: Various shades of green; rows of pale bumpy chevrons on back and side, accentuated with brown or rosy brown. Head black. Slug shaped.
Chrysalis: Shades of caramel and dark brown; bean shaped. The overwintering stage.
Spring Azures are woodland butterflies. They often spiral around their caterpillar host, Flowering Dogwood, a familiar component of many Alabama forests. Spring Azures are univoltine, producing only one generation each year, while their multi-brooded sister species, Summer Azure, produces several.
The common name, Spring Azure, is confusing because current research indicates that Summer Azures also produce a spring brood that is on the wing even before Spring Azures. Historic records only recognized one species: it was known as Spring Azure and considered to be multibrooded. Keep this in mind when viewing the county maps and flight charts below.
Spring Azures do not spend all their time in the dogwood canopy. Males visit damp earth where they form puddle clubs in search of salts and minerals. Females deposit eggs within clusters of fertile flowers located in the center of white dogwood bracts. Larvae eat buds and flowers, boring holes to reach protein-rich pollen grains. Caterpillars blend perfectly with the floral bunch, matching color and texture. Dogwoods also serve as adult food sources since Spring Azures nectar from the small individual flowers.
The decline of Flowering Dogwood populations that become evident in the 1980's is concerning. In Alabama, much remains to be learned about the actual distribution, abundance, and flight times of these little understood butterflies that have been considered common in the past but may not be now.
A dot on the county map indicates that there is at least one documented record of the species within that county. In some cases, a species may be common throughout the county, in others it may be found in only a specific habitat. The High Count information shows the highest numbers recorded for this species as well as when and where they occurred.
The sightings bar graphs depict the timing of flight(s) within each of three geographic regions. Place your cursor on a bar within the graph to see the number of individuals recorded during that period.
The abundance calendar displays the total number of individuals recorded within each week of the month. Both the graphs and the calendar are on based data collection that began in 2000.
The records analyzed here are only a beginning. As more data is collected, these maps and graphs will paint a more accurate picture of distribution and abundance in Alabama. Submit your sightings to albutterflyatlas@gmail.com.
Sightings in the following counties: Baldwin, Bibb, Blount, Butler, Calhoun, Cherokee, Chilton, Choctaw, Clay, Cleburne, Colbert, Conecuh, Dallas, DeKalb, Elmore, Escambia, Franklin, Geneva, Greene, Hale, Jackson, Jefferson, Lawrence, Lee, Madison, Marion, Marshall, Mobile, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Perry, Pickens, Pike, Randolph, Russell, Shelby, St. Clair, Tallapoosa, Tuscaloosa, Washington, Wilcox, Winston
High count(s):
View county names by moving the mouse over a county or view a map with county names
Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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1 | 2 | 5 | 13 | 38 | 95 | 143 | 137 | 156 | 207 | 55 | 74 | 58 | 78 | 33 | 7 | 2 | 4 |
The understory of hardwood, pine, or mixed pine/hardwood forests.
Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida) is considerd a primary host throughout the range. In some areas, viburnams (Viburnam spp.) and Black Cherry (Prunus serotina) are also reported.
The following has been documented in Alabama:
For more information about these plants, please visit the Alabama Plant Atlas using the links above.
Native dogwoods in the landscape provide larval food for both Spring and Summer Azures. Both species will also nectar on the tiny, true flowers.
Click on individual photos to view a larger version that includes photo credits, county, and date.
Photos with comments are indicated by a small, tan dot on the bottom right.