Cassius Blue - Alabama Butterfly Atlas

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Cassius Blues are typically residents of south Florida and southern Texas, but they sometimes stray to Alabama where they may establish temporary breeding colonies. Some may arrive by accident, hitching a ride as eggs, caterpillars, or chrysalides on one of their favored host plants, Blue Plumbago (Plumbago auriculata). Often sold at garden centers and in box stores, Blue Plumbago plants are generally shipped from wholesale nurseries in south Florida where Cassius Blues commonly occur. Others may follow waterways where they find alternate hosts along the way. One small colony in Jefferson County persisted for several months. Females were observed laying eggs on Ironweed (Vernonia sp.), but no larvae were ever found. No Plumbago was in the vicinity, and no alternate host could be determined.

Cassius Blues are tiny, zebra-striped butterflies whose flight is extremely quick and erratic. They fly high and low to seek nectar. Males patrol in search of females. Females lay disc-shaped eggs on buds or flowers of host plants, and caterpillars eat these structures.

The very similar Marine Blue also strays into Alabama, so tiny striped butterflies should be carefully viewed to determine their identity.

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: Baldwin, Jefferson, Mobile, Perry

Sightings in the past 5 years
Sightings in the past 5 - 10 years
Sightings more than 10 years ago

High count(s):

8 - Jefferson - 9/26/2019
6 - Jefferson - 10/6/2019
5 - Jefferson - 8/25/2019

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	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4
																													1		8	3	2		9	7	1		1	1

Habitat

Weedy sites, gardens, parks, forest edges.

Host and Nectar Plants

Reports from nearby states list milkpeas (Galactia spp.), Wild Tamarind (Lysiloma latisiliquum), rattleboxes (Crotalaria spp.), Wild Mimosa (Lysiloma latisquum) and Blue Plumbago (Plumbago auriculata).

No host has been documented in Alabama.