Common cerulean
Common cerulean caterpillars are attended by ants that gather their honeydew in exchange for protection, and unlike related ceruleans, the adults commonly range well outside forest.
| Where | Forest edges, wastelands and gardens |
|---|---|
| Size | 28 to 32 mm wingspan |
| When | January to December |
The common cerulean is a small blue with a whitish blue upperside in males, edged by a narrow dark forewing border, while females are whiter with much broader dark margins on both wings; the greyish to ochreous brown underside is marked with fine whitish striae and a black-centred, orange-crowned tornal spot trailing a short white-tipped tail.
Caterpillars feed on plants including tropical kudzu and combretum vines, usually attended by ants that collect their honeydew secretions in exchange for protection, and adults visit flowers for nectar while males gather at damp patches of ground to take up minerals.
Traits
Habitat
Garden
Colour
Blue, Brown
Active
Day
To people
Not known to bite or sting people.
Activity through the year
Often confused with
Males are velvety black above with a smaller, less silvery blue patch, and the underside ground colour is dark chocolate brown rather than the common cerulean's paler greyish to ochreous brown.
Questions
Is the Common cerulean dangerous to people?
Not known to bite or sting people.
When can you see the Common cerulean?
The Common cerulean can be seen from January to December, by day.
Plate retouched from a museum specimen photo by Swiss Natural History Collections - SwissNatColl, CC BY 4.0, GBIF Licence
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Butterflies and moths›Blues and coppers›Jamides
Last updated 2026-09-27. Every entry is checked against published sources.