Echo Azure
Celastrina echo
Echo Azure caterpillars possess specialized glands that secrete a sweet honeydew, bribing local ants to act as aggressive bodyguards against wasps and spiders.
- Scientific name
- Celastrina echo
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Arthropoda › Insecta › Lepidoptera › Lycaenidae › Celastrina
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- forest
- Habitat
- Deciduous and mixed forests, woodland edges, chaparral, riparian corridors, and urban parks.
- Diet
- Adults feed on flower nectar, mud-puddle minerals, and aphid honeydew; caterpillars consume the buds and flowers of host plants such as dogwood, ocean spray, and ceanothus.
- Range
- North America, Pacific Northwest, California, Rocky Mountains
- Size
- Wingspan of 20 to 32 mm (0.75 to 1.25 inches).
- Lifespan
- 7 to 14 days as an active adult; up to one year across all life stages including overwintering pupae.
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Habitat fragmentation, widespread pesticide use, and the loss of native host plants to invasive vegetation.
- Safe to approach?
- This butterfly is entirely harmless to humans. Observe from a close, respectful distance to avoid disrupting its feeding or mating. If one lands on you, remain still and let it drink moisture or salts from your skin. Do not attempt to grasp or touch its wings, as this can rub off the delicate scales required for flight.
Celastrina echo , known generally as the echo azure or western azure , is a species of blue in the family of butterflies known as Lycaenidae. It is found in North America.
Photo: John Hibbard, CC-BY, via iNaturalist
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