''Celastrina ladon'', the spring azure or echo blue, is a

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

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 butterfly ...

. It is found in North America from

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

south of the tundra, through most of the United States except the Texas coast, southern plain and peninsula Florida; south in the mountains to Colombia. Also on Molokai island, Hawaii. Since the publication of a monograph on the ''

Lycaenopsis ''Lycaenopsis'' is a genus of Lycaenidae, lycaenid butterflies.C. argiolus'' (Linnaeus, 1758). Other authorities still consider ''C. ladon'' and related species ''C. neglecta'' and ''C. serotina'', to be "full" species. Its wingspan is 22-35 mm. The metallic blue wings have a black margin in females. Undersides of the wings are white with speckles. Celastrina ladon Bruce

Similar species

* Cherry gall azure (''C. serotina'') * Holly azure (''C. idella'') * Lucia azure (''C. lucia'') * Summer azure (''C. neglecta'')

References

External links

Celastrina Butterflies of North America Butterflies described in 1780 Taxa named by Pieter Cramer {{Polyommatini-stub