Ceraunus Blue
Hemiargus ceraunus (Fabricius, 1793)
Family: Lycaenidae
Subfamily: Polyommatinae
Identification: Upperside of male light blue with a darker narrow border; female dark brown, often with wing bases blue. Underside gray; both wings with a row of dark postmedian dashes. Florida butterflies have one submarginal eyespot on hindwing; Southwest butterflies have two.
Wing Span: 3/4 - 1 1/8 inches (2 - 3 cm).
Life History: Males patrol during warm hours of the day for receptive females. Eggs are laid singly on flower buds or leaves of host plant; caterpillars feed on flowers and seedpods.
Flight: Throughout the year in Texas and south Florida, late summer in other parts of its range.
Caterpillar Hosts: A variety of woody legumes including partridge pea (Cassia brachiata), mesquite (Prosopis species), and rosary pea (Abrus precatorius).
Adult Food: Flower nectar.
Habitat: Open woodland, desert scrub, dunes, pastures, road edges, and vacant lots.
Range: U. S. Southwest, South Texas, Florida and the Keys south through the West Indies, Mexico, and Central America to South America. Strays to North Carolina, Missouri, Kansas, and Nevada.
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.
Please donate!
We depend on donations to keep Butterflies and Moths of North America freely available. We want to express our gratitude to all who showed their support by making a contribution this year. You can donate to support this project at any time.
Advertise with us!
Do you have a product or service that you think would interest BAMONA users? If you would like to advertise on this website, contact us by email, or use the contact form and select the "Advertising" category.
Verified Sightings
Displaying 265 - 288 of 874 verified sightings
Observation date: Dec 25, 2019
Submitted by: TomObrock
Region: Lee County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Dec 29, 2019
Observation date: Dec 01, 2019
Submitted by: Bill Uttenweiler
Region: Brevard County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Dec 03, 2019
Observation date: Nov 21, 2019
Submitted by: Bill Uttenweiler
Region: Brevard County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Nov 25, 2019
Observation date: Nov 18, 2019
Submitted by: Bill Uttenweiler
Region: Brevard County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Nov 19, 2019
Observation date: Nov 06, 2019
Submitted by: falco1
Region: San Bernardino County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Nov 07, 2019
Observation date: Nov 04, 2019
Submitted by: Bill Uttenweiler
Region: Brevard County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Nov 06, 2019
Observation date: Nov 05, 2019
Submitted by: Bill Uttenweiler
Region: Orange County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Nov 05, 2019
Observation date: Oct 28, 2019
Submitted by: jrmbutterfly
Region: Cochise County, Arizona, United States
Verified by: John Saba
Verified date: Oct 31, 2019
Observation date: Oct 14, 2019
Submitted by: Ssneed
Region: Maricopa County, Arizona, United States
Verified by: John Saba
Verified date: Oct 20, 2019
Observation date: Oct 16, 2019
Submitted by: Michael Weisensee
Region: Charlotte County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Oct 16, 2019
Observation date: Oct 15, 2019
Submitted by: Michael Weisensee
Region: Sarasota County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Oct 15, 2019
Observation date: Oct 03, 2019
Submitted by: Bill Uttenweiler
Region: Brevard County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Oct 15, 2019
Observation date: Oct 10, 2019
Submitted by: Michael Weisensee
Region: Charlotte County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Oct 13, 2019
Observation date: Oct 06, 2019
Submitted by: robert.emond
Region: Gulf County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Oct 09, 2019
Observation date: Oct 07, 2019
Submitted by: storolaf
Region: Yavapai County, Arizona, United States
Verified by: John Saba
Verified date: Oct 08, 2019
Observation date: Aug 27, 2019
Submitted by: KlausGottschald...
Region: Monroe County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Oct 06, 2019
Observation date: Sep 30, 2019
Submitted by: Michael Weisensee
Region: Charlotte County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Oct 01, 2019
Observation date: Oct 01, 2019
Submitted by: Michael Weisensee
Region: Sarasota County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Oct 01, 2019
Observation date: Sep 29, 2019
Submitted by: Bill Uttenweiler
Region: Brevard County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Sep 30, 2019
Observation date: Aug 24, 2019
Submitted by: Ken Cheeks
Region: Burke County, Georgia, United States
Verified by: Mikelchap
Verified date: Sep 27, 2019
Observation date: Sep 17, 2019
Submitted by: Bill Uttenweiler
Region: Brevard County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Sep 20, 2019
Observation date: Sep 07, 2019
Submitted by: John Demko
Region: Aiken County, South Carolina, United States
Verified by: Dennis Forsythe
Verified date: Sep 09, 2019
Observation date: Jul 27, 2019
Submitted by: Kristie Nelson
Region: Mono County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Aug 31, 2019
Observation date: Aug 05, 2019
Submitted by: Kristie Nelson
Region: Mono County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Aug 31, 2019
- ‹ previous
- 12 of 37
- next ›