Attributes of Cupido comyntas
Eastern Tailed-Blue
Cupido comyntas (Godart, [1824])
Family: Lycaenidae
Subfamily: Polyommatinae
Identification: One narrow tail on hindwing. Upperside of male iridescent blue; summer females uniformly brown, spring females smaller with much blue at the wing bases. Underside of hindwing pale gray with black bar at end of cell, distinct black spots, and three large orange spots at outer margin near tail.
Wing Span: 7/8 - 1 1/8 inches (2.2 - 2.9 cm).
Life History: Males patrol near the host plants during daylight hours. Females lay eggs on flower buds; caterpillars eat buds, flowers, and seeds. The caterpillar hibernates, pupating the following spring. Although most Lycaenids do not perch with open wings, Eastern Tailed-Blues sometimes bask with their wings at a 45 angle.
Flight: Three broods from April-November in the north, many broods from February-November in the south.
Caterpillar Hosts: Many plants in the pea family including yellow sweet clover (Melilotus officinalis), alfalfa (Medicago sativa); various species of vetch (Vicia), clover (Trifolium), wild pea (Lathyrus), and bush clover (Lespedeza); and others.
Adult Food: This butterfly has a low flight and a short proboscis, thus is found at flowers close to the ground which are open or short-tubed. These include white sweet clover, shepherd's needle, wild strawberry, winter cress, cinquefoils, asters, and others.
Habitat: Many open, sunny places including weedy areas and disturbed habitats.
Range: Southeast Canada and Eastern United States west to western North Dakota, central Colorado, and central Texas. Also ranges from southeastern Arizona, western New Mexico, and west Texas south to Costa Rica.
Conservation: Not usually required.
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management Needs: None reported.
Taxonomy Notes:
Images of Cupido comyntas
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The map below displays all verified sighting records in the BAMONA database for this species. Each record is indicated with a yellow dot. The orange dots on the map provide access to information about the 400 most recently verified sightings of this species. In some instances, there are several records at the same location. Use the table view to access these records.
Instructions: Click on the map and move your mouse to pan.
Zoom by using the plus [+] and minus [-] on the left side of the map.
To change which map layers are displayed, click on the plus sign [+] on the right side of the map.
The fifty most recently verified sightings are below. See more recently verified sightings of all species.
| Observation Date | Submitter | Region |
Verified Date |
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May 18, 2013 | von40827 | Leslie County, Kentucky, United States | May 19, 2013 | Details |
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May 18, 2013 | von40827 | Leslie County, Kentucky, United States | May 19, 2013 | Details |
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May 18, 2013 | von40827 | Leslie County, Kentucky, United States | May 19, 2013 | Details |
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May 15, 2013 | gunhilda | Payne County, Oklahoma, United States | May 15, 2013 | Details |
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May 12, 2013 | Doug Bruce | Bledsoe County, Tennessee, United States | May 12, 2013 | Details |
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August 30, 2012 | KristyBaker | Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States | May 11, 2013 | Details |
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May 05, 2013 | treichard | Montgomery County, Maryland, United States | May 10, 2013 | Details |
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May 07, 2013 | CA Ivy | Tulsa County, Oklahoma, United States | May 07, 2013 | Details |
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May 02, 2013 | mathgeek | Jackson County, Illinois, United States | May 05, 2013 | Details |
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May 01, 2013 | gunhilda | Payne County, Oklahoma, United States | May 01, 2013 | Details |
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April 25, 2013 | Mike Stinson | Lunenburg County, Virginia, United States | April 30, 2013 | Details |
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April 27, 2013 | Janet Pawlukiewicz | Lancaster County, Virginia, United States | April 30, 2013 | Details |
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April 28, 2012 | Jim Klingler | Nemaha County, Kansas, United States | April 28, 2013 | Details |
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April 15, 2013 | Doug Bruce | Hardin County, Tennessee, United States | April 23, 2013 | Details |
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April 14, 2013 | HHowell | Wayne County, Tennessee, United States | April 22, 2013 | Details |
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April 14, 2013 | HHowell | Lawrence County, Tennessee, United States | April 21, 2013 | Details |
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April 20, 2013 | CA Ivy | Adair County, Oklahoma, United States | April 21, 2013 | Details |
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April 19, 2013 | CA Ivy | Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States | April 19, 2013 | Details |
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April 16, 2013 | Doug Bruce | Houston County, Tennessee, United States | April 17, 2013 | Details |
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April 17, 2013 | CA Ivy | Johnson County, Arkansas, United States | April 17, 2013 | Details |
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April 13, 2013 | Doug Bruce | Bledsoe County, Tennessee, United States | April 16, 2013 | Details |
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April 16, 2013 | CA Ivy | Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States | April 16, 2013 | Details |
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March 31, 2013 | CA Ivy | Tulsa County, Oklahoma, United States | April 06, 2013 | Details |
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April 06, 2013 | CA Ivy | Adair County, Oklahoma, United States | April 06, 2013 | Details |
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August 20, 2011 | catharinejo | Jackson County, Kansas, United States | April 05, 2013 | Details |
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April 05, 2013 | gunhilda | Payne County, Oklahoma, United States | April 05, 2013 | Details |
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August 05, 2011 | rogerdowner | Franklin County, Ohio, United States | April 05, 2013 | Details |
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September 17, 2011 | rogerdowner (Marvin Smith) | Erie County, Ohio, United States | April 05, 2013 | Details |
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March 30, 2013 | CA Ivy | Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States | April 03, 2013 | Details |
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April 01, 2013 | CA Ivy | Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States | April 03, 2013 | Details |
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March 30, 2013 | Ken Cheeks | Aiken County, South Carolina, United States | April 02, 2013 | Details |
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April 01, 2013 | scvirginia | Charleston County, South Carolina, United States | April 01, 2013 | Details |
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November 10, 2012 | CA Ivy | Adair County, Oklahoma, United States | March 22, 2013 | Details |
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October 20, 2012 | CA Ivy | Adair County, Oklahoma, United States | March 21, 2013 | Details |
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September 08, 2012 | CA Ivy | Cherokee County, Oklahoma, United States | March 20, 2013 | Details |
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June 04, 2011 | Mary Franceline Malone | Powhatan County, Virginia, United States | March 18, 2013 | Details |
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July 04, 2012 | Rick Henle | Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States | March 11, 2013 | Details |
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July 11, 2012 | Chip Krilowicz | Salem County, New Jersey, United States | March 11, 2013 | Details |
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June 30, 2012 | J_Martineau | Dakota County, Minnesota, United States | February 09, 2013 | Details |
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August 24, 2012 | MarkScottsmltd | Fannin County, Georgia, United States | January 31, 2013 | Details |
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October 20, 2012 | Ken Cheeks | Richmond County, Georgia, United States | January 30, 2013 | Details |
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October 30, 2012 | CA Ivy | Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States | January 28, 2013 | Details |
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October 31, 2012 | CA Ivy | Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States | January 28, 2013 | Details |
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November 01, 2012 | CA Ivy | Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States | January 28, 2013 | Details |
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October 16, 2012 | CA Ivy | Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States | January 27, 2013 | Details |
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October 24, 2012 | CA Ivy | Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States | January 27, 2013 | Details |
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October 25, 2012 | CA Ivy | Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States | January 27, 2013 | Details |
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October 12, 2012 | CA Ivy | Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States | January 25, 2013 | Details |
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October 14, 2012 | CA Ivy | Sebastian County, Arkansas, United States | January 25, 2013 | Details |
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July 08, 2012 | K Stilwell | Buchanan County, Virginia, United States | January 12, 2013 | Details |
