Eastern tailed blue is a common butterfly of Eastern North America. Males are generally blue on upper part of wings. Females are lighter blue to brown or charcoal in color, but there is also some purple and pink in both male and female.
On the bottom of the butterfly, the color is from bluish-white to tan. There are 2 or 3 black to orange spots on the back of the hind wings and a trailing off the intermost of the spots.
They feed on various legumes and are known to secrete a substance which is flavored by an ant species. The ant in turn protects larva of the butterfly from other predators.
The butterfly is common across eastern North america and is found as far south as Central America. Often found in sunny, open habitat, the butterfly prefers clover, alfalfa, and seeds of various legumes.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family Lycaenidae
Genus: Everes
Species: E. comyntas
More about the Eastern Tailed Blue Butterflies!
