Mar 21 2010
Spring Azures (Purple Butterflies)
image of a purple butterfly
Butterflies come in many different colors and sizes. One of my favorite small butterflies is the purple butterfly known as the Spring Azure. I figure it was called that because you usually see them in spring, and also because of their purple color.The Spring Azure is so small it is easily missed among the early spring flowers. They have wings that are usually less than an inch in width.They are tiny! Their wings are darker purple on top and lighter purple (almost gray) underneath.
Spring Azures are woodland butterflies. So, you will usually only see them at the edges of woods. They often feed on flowers that are high in the trees so they can sometimes be a little hard to see, you have to watch for that flash of purple.
The Spring Azures uses several different kinds of plants as host plants such as Dogwoods, Sumacs, Viburnums, Blueberries, and various types of Hollies as well. For nectar sources they use White Clover, Dogwood blooms, Black Eyed Susans, Joe Pye Weed and Butterfly Weed. My Spring Azures enjoy the white clover in my lawn, so I leave it alone and let it grow.
I often see Spring Azures at the mud puddles after a spring rain when the sun has returned. They are one kind of purple butterfly that really enjoys a good mud puddle. That is one reason I have a mud puddle in my butterfly garden. They are so fun to watch. If you disturb them, they will fly up and flutter around, they are really pretty to see with their purple wings in the bright sunlight.
The Spring Azure has multiple broods of butterflies in a season, so there could be 3 generations of butterflies in one year. There are several different kinds of Azure butterflies, but telling them apart is so hard that even experts have a rough time deciding which is which. When I see a small purple butterflies in the spring of the year; I call it a Spring Azure, and that is close enough for me.
Spring Azures are very hard to get a picture of because they do not stay still for very long at a time, and they have an erratic way of flying too. I keep trying but I have yet to capture one on film!
Spring Azures are some of the smallest purple butterflies in the United States. If you watch closely in the spring of the year; wherever you see white clover blooming, you may just catch sight of one. Good Luck!
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