Summer azure
Unlike the closely related spring azure it resembles, this butterfly produces two or three overlapping broods and keeps flying into autumn.
| Where | Woodland edges, streamsides and gardens |
|---|---|
| Size | 23 to 33 mm wingspan |
| When | May to September |
The summer azure is a small butterfly with a wingspan of about 23 to 33 mm. Males are powdery blue above with a faint white patch on the hindwing, while females show more white with a wide dark border on the forewing; both sexes have a pale grey-white underside with small black dots.
Caterpillars feed on the flower buds of dogwoods, New Jersey tea, sumac and similar shrubs, and the species overwinters as a chrysalis. Two or three overlapping broods keep adults flying from late May into September, later than the related spring azure.
Traits
Habitat
Woodland
Colour
Blue, White
Active
Day
To people
Harmless to people; adults gather at damp mud for salts and minerals.
Activity through the year
Often confused with
Flies in a single brood from March into early June, weeks before the multiple-brooded Summer azure begins its own longer flight season.
Questions
Is the Summer azure dangerous to people?
Harmless to people; adults gather at damp mud for salts and minerals.
When can you see the Summer azure?
The Summer azure can be seen from May to September, by day.
Plate retouched from a photo by Adrienne van den Beemt, CC BY 4.0, iNaturalist Licence
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Butterflies and moths›Blues and coppers›Celastrina
Last updated 2026-09-27. Every entry is checked against published sources.