Tag Archives: cassius blue butterfly

Now a regular

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The cassius blue (leptotes cassius theonus) has become a regular visitor in our front garden. Today it seemed to enjoy the blanket flowers.

They are so tiny with a wingspan from 1.4 to 2.5 centimeters.

The males have bright blue wings, while the female has pale blue with dark borders. I am determined to photograph this little beauty with its wings open.

This species can be found in dune areas near the beach, margins of hammocks, as well as shrubby and disturbed areas.

They can also be found in gardens when you plant their host plant, or a variety of nectar. The butterfly will lay eggs on the bean and leadwort families, which includes herbs, vines, shrubs and trees.

I have the plumbago in the garden, which has become very bushy, making the tiny bluish green eggs hard to find.

Meet the cassius blue

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The cassius blue drinking from a scorpion tail.

I am thrilled with the number of small butterflies visiting our garden lately. Our newest visitor, leptotes cassius theonus, or otherwise known as the cassius blue butterfly, spent a lot of time drinking nectar from our scorpion tail.

The cassius blue sitting on a leaf of the penta.

The first thing that caught my eye, which is now trained to look for erratic flying insects, was the cassius blue’s two “eyespots” on its hindwing.

plumbago

Their wingspan are small, only ranging from 1.4 to 2.5 centimeters. We do have one of its host plants in our garden, the plumbago, and tons of it.

I would imagine it would be next to impossible to spot an egg, although definitely interesting as they are bluish green in color.

The cassius blue drinking from a scorpion tail.

The male has bright blue wings, while the female has paler blue with darker borders. Although I was not able to photograph the wings open, I definitely spotted the darker blue when flying. With his erratic style of flying, as well as it flying closer to the ground, from what I have read, is another indicator of it being a male.

The cassius blue drinking from a scorpion tail.

The females slow down a little more while finding its host plant, or much higher near the tree tops.

The cassius blue drinking from a scorpion tail.
The cassius blue drinking from a scorpion tail.