Marine Blue
Leptotes marina
Description
5/8-1" (16-25 mm). Above, male uniform light purple to lavender-blue, without white inner HW margin; female dull violet, with broad brown border, and brownish suffusion to bases of FW and HW. Blanched bluish or brownish-white below, entirely scalloped with pale brown crescents; HW spots iridescent pale blue to silver-colored.
Similar Species
Cassius Blue paler blue not purplish above, scalloping stops halfway down wings leaving blank area. Marine and Cassius overlap in central states.
Life Cycle
Egg green, ridged white. Caterpillar variable, from pure green to rich brown. Short-haired, dark yellow chrysalis has paler wing cases. Pea family
host plants include alfalfa (Medicago sativa), sweet pea (Lathyrus odoratus), false indigo (Amorpha), and others; also leadwort (Plumbago).
Flight
Multiple, continuous broods in Tropics and frost-free temperate regions; peaking February-November in Southwest. Summer emigrant in central and mountain states.
Habitat
Weedy, open sites; common along watercourses.
Range
Resident in s.Texas to central California; summer emigrant to Illinois, and Nebraska; also American Tropics.
Discussion
Like Cassius Blues, Marine Blues fly northward in summer, dying back in fall and winter to frost-free strongholds. Extensive ornamental plantings of leadwort and wisteria in California bring legions of these shimmering purple-blue butterflies to city and suburban streets and parks. East of the Rockies, they follow canals and streams far into the plains and foothills. Like many emigrant butterflies, Marine Blues exploit ephemeral habitats - margins, flats, streambeds, and wastes, where weedy annuals spring up between frosts and floods.
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