Complete Guide To The Eastern Tailed-Blue Butterfly
Eastern Tailed-Blue Butterfly
Eastern Tailed-Blue Butterfly Images
Eastern Tailed-blue Butterfly Everes comyntas. Photograph taken by the author. Copyright Now I Wonder.
Eastern Tailed-blue Butterfly Everes comyntas. Photograph taken by the author. Copyright Now I Wonder.
Eastern Tailed-blue Butterfly Everes comyntas. Photograph taken by the author. Copyright Now I Wonder.
Eastern Tailed-blue Butterfly Everes comyntas. Photograph taken by the author. Copyright Now I Wonder.
Eastern Tailed-blue Butterfly Everes comyntas. Photograph taken by the author. Copyright Now I Wonder.
Eastern Tailed-blue Butterfly Everes comyntas. Photograph taken by the author. Copyright Now I Wonder.
Eastern Tailed-blue Butterfly Everes comyntas. Photograph taken by the author. Copyright Now I Wonder.
Eastern Tailed-blue Butterfly Everes comyntas. Photograph taken by the author. Copyright Now I Wonder.
How To Identify Eastern Tailed-Blue Butterflies
- Wingspan: 0.5 – 1.0 inches (1.3 – 2.5 cm)
- Above:
- Males and females differ in appearance.
- Males are bright, solid blue. Wings are rimmed in thin band of brown.
- Females are either dull blue (spring-time females) or dark, slate gray (summer and fall females).
- Each hind wing of both sexes has 1-3 small, orange and black spots, and a single, short, thread-like tail.
- Males and females differ in appearance.
- Below:
- Males and females are similar in appearance.
- Wings are pale gray, with curved rows of small black spots and bars.
- Each hind wing has 1-3 small, orange and black spots, and a single, short, thread-like tail.
Eastern Tailed-blue butterfly Everes comyntas labelled with field marks that identify the species. Photograph and diagram created by the author. Copyright Now I Wonder.
Eastern Tailed-blue butterfly Everes comyntas labelled with field marks that identify the species. Photograph and diagram created by the author. Copyright Now I Wonder.
How To Find Eastern Tailed-Blue Butterflies
- Flight Season: End of March through October.
- Look for adult Eastern Tailed-Blue Butterflies in open, sunny areas with low-growing vegetation, like meadows, fields, and overgrown lawns. They are also common in disturbed areas like power line cuts and along railroads.
- Adult butterflies feed on nectar from a wide variety of flowering plants, especially:
- White Sweet Clover (Melilotus alba)
- Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)
- Daisy Fleabane (Erigeron annuus)
- These butterflies like to fly low, almost hugging the ground, and have a fast, fluttery, up and down flight.
- They can be hard to see when perched because of their small size and relatively inconspicuous ventral wing surface coloration.
- The best way to spot these butterflies is to wait motionless in a likely habitat, like a flowery meadow, and watch carefully for flitting motion inches above the tops of the plants. Follow the butterfly with your eyes until it lands.
- Male Eastern Tailed-Blue Butterflies also like to “puddle” or gather around damp soil to drink salts and other minerals.
Eastern Tailed-Blue Butterfly Classification
|
Phylum |
Arthropoda |
|
Class |
Insecta |
|
Order |
Lepidoptera |
|
Family |
Lycaenidae (Gossamer Wing Butterflies) |
|
Genus |
Everes |
|
Species |
E. comyntas |
Binomial Name |
Everes comyntas |
