The cassius blue, lycaenidae/gossamer wings, is starting to appear constantly in the garden. I was beyond thrilled when I witnessed this little beauty laying eggs on my plumbago yesterday.
Its wingspan is only 15-22 mm. The egg is flattened and blue. The butterfly will lay the egg on flowers, flower buds or the developing seed pods of the plumbago. I have yet to find the eggs, or the caterpillars. I can only imagine the size of the caterpillar and chrysalis.
The cassius blue, Leptotes cassius, or sometimes referred to as the striped blue, can be found throughout peninsular Florida, especially along the coast.
This butterfly is super tiny, with only a 3/4-15/16 inch wing span. There are two eyespots on the margin of the hind wing. The males are pale to bright blue above, while the females have a bluish-white to white above the basal area of the wing, as well as broad dark borders.
The larvae are also small, as it is approximately only .5 inches in length and are green with faint dark markings, or a patterned white faint marking. Among the host plants are the plumbago, which I have plenty of in the garden.
I am excited to share that I witnessed a cassius blue lay eggs on my plumbago plant this afternoon.
Although I could not find the eggs, I took two portions of the plant I saw her leave eggs on and put them in the butterfly house.
The caterpillar full grown is approximately .05 inches in length with a green coloring. The female will lay single eggs on the flower buds, which the caterpillar eats, as well as the flowers and any developing seeds. The caterpillar will go through four instars before creating its chrysalis, which is tan with dark marks and short white hairs.
She took a break and drank some nectar from a red sage, before returning to the plumbago, laying more eggs.
My daughter and I found this cassius blue, Leptotes cassius theonus, by chance sitting on a blade of grass in the yard. This tiny butterfly is always fun to spot and find sitting still, as it has a pretty erratic flight.
This butterfly is said to be pretty common throughout Florida, specially along the coasts. Apparently there are two subspecies, theonus, which can be found in Florida, and striata, found in Texas. They have a nickname of “zebra blues” due to the dark stripes found on the underside of the wing. I have yet to capture a photograph of the top of the wings.
The cassius blue, Leptotes cassius theonus, is a tiny butterfly that has a wingspan of only 20-33 mm. The caterpillar is also small, as it reaches only .05 inches in length.
