''Celastrina serotina'', the cherry gall azure, is a

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

of the family

Lycaenidae Lycaenidae is the second-largest family of butterflies (behind Nymphalidae, brush-footed butterflies), with over 6,000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies. They constitute about 30% of the known butterfl ...

. It is found across

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

as far north as the

treeline The tree line is the edge of the habitat at which trees are capable of growing. It is found at high elevations and high latitudes. Beyond the tree line, trees cannot tolerate the environmental conditions (usually cold temperatures, extreme snowp ...

. Its flight time is between mid-May and mid-June in eastern Ontario after the

spring azure ''Celastrina ladon'', the spring azure or echo blue, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in North America from Alaska and Canada south of the tundra, through most of the United States except the Texas coast, southern plain and ...

and before the

summer azure ''Celastrina neglecta'', the summer azure, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in North America. Layberry, Hall, and Lafontaine, in ''The Butterflies of Canada'', describe the species: The upper surface is pale blue with an ext ...

. The larva has been reported to feed on galls of eriophyid mites (e. g. ''

Eriophyes cerasicrumena ''Eriophyes cerasicrumena'', the black cherry leaf gall mite, is a species of gall mite in the family Eriophyidae. This species was formerly a member of the genus '' Phytoptus''. They produce galls on black cherry ''Prunus serotina'', commo ...

'') and apparently also on the mites themselves, making them one of the rare species of carnivorous Lepidoptera. It is commonly found around woodland roads of upland mixed deciduous hardwood forests which are surrounded by wetlands.

Similar species

Spring azure ''Celastrina ladon'', the spring azure or echo blue, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in North America from Alaska and Canada south of the tundra, through most of the United States except the Texas coast, southern plain and ...

(''C. ladon'') *

Summer azure ''Celastrina neglecta'', the summer azure, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in North America. Layberry, Hall, and Lafontaine, in ''The Butterflies of Canada'', describe the species: The upper surface is pale blue with an ext ...

(''C. neglecta'') *

Holly azure ''Celastrina idella'', the American holly azure, is a species of butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found on the east coast of the United States. Description Adults The wing uppersides are uniform light blue or purplish-blue, shinier in ...

(''C. idella'') *

Lucia azure ''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 Appalachia ...

(''C. lucia'')

References

External links

Cherry gall azure
BugGuide.net {{Taxonbar, from=Q5057533 Celastrina Butterflies of North America Butterflies described in 2005