Alabama Butterfly Atlas

Butterfly: Wingspan: 1¼ - 1½ inches (3.2 - 3.9 cm) UPPER SURFACE (dorsal)  Male blue; thin black forewing border. Female blue with white scaling; wide black border; dark spots alng hindwing edge. UNDER SURFACE (ventral) Chalky white; faint dark spots and chevrons. Hindwing fringe not checkered.

ID Tip: Look for host plant to aid in identification. Underside of wings is pale.  Open wings are blue rather than violet. Typically, Appalachians are the largest of the azures.

Egg: Blue-green. Flattened disc shape. Typically placed on or near developing flower buds of host plant.

Caterpillar: Color highly variable: green, white, reddish brown, and various combinations. Usually tended by ants.

Chrysalis:  Light reddish brown to yellow brown with small dark brown spots. Bean shaped. The overwintering stage.

Appalachian Azures and Common Black Cohosh, their only host plant, are found on shady, moist hillsides within rich mountain forests. The butterflies produce only one generation per year and usually fly after Spring Azures but before Summer Azures are common.

The best way to find Appalachian Azures is to search for the host plant in the appropriate habitat. That is how Sara Bright and Paulette Haywood Ogard found them at the Walls of Jericho in Jackson County and documented them for the state of Alabama. Male Appalachians fly first and often engage in puddling behavior, where their large size helps to separate them from other azures. Butterflies are usually on the wing when flower buds are tiny and cob-like. It is easy to see females curling their abdomens as they place eggs along budded flower spikes. Young caterpillars bore into buds to eat developing pollen grains.  Older caterpillars eat entire buds and are usually tended by ants. By the time cohosh flowers are in bloom, caterpillars are often well on the way to maturity. To see butterflies, searchers may need to locate the plants and/or caterpillars one year and return early the following year to see the adults.

The name Appalachian Azure is only partially accurate--these azures also occur in the Ozarks. In Alabama, they are known from Jackson County but should be looked for in other mountain sites that support Common Black Cohosh.

Distribution and Abundance

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: Jackson

  • Map Symbol for Recent Sightings Sightings in the past 5 years
  • Map Symbol for Semi-Recent Sightings Sightings in the past 5 - 10 years
  • Map Symbol for Old Sightings Sightings more than 10 years ago

High count(s):

  • 17 - Jackson - 6/8/2021
  • 9 - Jackson - 5/22/2009
  • 6 - Jackson - 5/20/2009
County Distribution Map

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
1 3 6 10 17

Habitat

Rich hardwood forests that support Common Black-Cohosh, the only known caterpillar host.

Appalachian Azure
Appalachian Azure (Celastrina neglectamajor)
County
© Sara Bright
Hardwood forest with Common Black Cohosh
Appalachian Azure
Appalachian Azure (Celastrina neglectamajor)
County
© Sara Bright
Hardwood forest with Common Black Cohosh

Host Plants

Common Black Cohosh (Actaea racemosa) is the only reported host plant throughout Appalachian Azure's entire range..

For more information about these plants, please visit the Alabama Plant Atlas using the links above.

Appalachian Azure
Appalachian Azure (Celastrina neglectamajor)
County
© Sara Bright
Common Black Cohosh
Appalachian Azure
Appalachian Azure (Celastrina neglectamajor)
County
© Sara Bright
Common Black Cohosh
Appalachian Azure
Appalachian Azure (Celastrina neglectamajor)
County
© Sara Bright
Common Black Cohosh

Landscaping Ideas

If Appalachian Azures are in the area, the addition of Common Black Cohosh to the woodland garden may draw them in.