Size:
Wingspan is 3/4 - 1 1/8 inches.

Similar Species:
Summer Azure
Eastern Tailed-Blue
Atlantic Holly Azure
Appalachian Azure (mtns only)
In the Virginias only:
Cherry Gall Azure (rare)
Northern Azure (rare)

Habitat:
Woodlands, wet meadows, marshes, swamps, trails, roads and wet edges.

Range/Abundance:
Common in the mountains and piedmont. Not usually found in the eastern coastal plain.

Flight Period:
Adults fly from late February until late May in a single brood.

Larval Host Plants:
Flowering Dogwood Cornus florida

Comments:
Spring Azure is a harbinger of spring and is a delight to most who find it early in the season.

The best way to tell Spring Azure from Atlantic Holly Azure is by the habitat. Spring Azures are found around sites with Flowering Dogwood and Atlantic Holly Azure is found in pocosins and swamps with lots of American Holly and no dogwoods.

Spring Azures tend to fly at head height or above, where as Eastern Tailed-Blues tend fly closer to the ground.

The top photo was taken in Person Co., NC on March 14, 2002. The center photo was taken in Orange Co., NC on March 08, 2002. The bottom photo was taken at Eno River State Park in Orange Co., NC during April of 1999.

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