Recognition of the Spring Flight of Celastrina (Tutt) (Lycaenidae: Polyommatinae) in Southern New England as an Introgressed Hybrid Species

Authors

• Harry Pavulaan, International Lepidoptera SurveyFollow

Date of this Version

5-12-2026

Document Type

Journal Issue

Citation

The Taxonomic Report (May 12, 2026) 13(8): 1-7

Comments

Copyright 2026, International Lepidoptera Survey. Open access

License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-SA-NC 4.0 International)

Abstract

Populations of Celastrina (“Azure”) butterflies in southern New England have historically been referred to as either C. ladon (Cramer) or C. lucia (W. Kirby) by various authors. Following the discovery of elongated dorsal wing scales in males of C. ladon (D. Wright & Pavulaan, 1999; Ômura et al., 2015)—structures that replace the androconia that are typically present in most Celastrina species—it was believed that this trait was restricted to C. ladon, C. nigra (W. Forbes), and, more recently, C. iryna (Pavulaan, 2025). Microscopic examination of male “Spring Azure” specimens from across southern New England has revealed the presence of these elongated dorsal wing scales. The present author initially interpreted this population as representing a northern subspecies of C. ladon. However, comprehensive life history characteristics indicate that this population belongs within the lucia guild of Celastrina. It is therefore proposed that the elongated wing scale trait introgressed into northeastern populations of C. lucia, replacing androconia and making C. isadora (new species) the fourth species within the Celastrina complex known to possess this distinctive scale morphology.