Life on a Quarter Acre

This is a new species of butterfly in the genus Celastrina. Previously it was considered a subspecies, but was recently elevated to species status. See the paper linked below.

It is exciting to have found this species in the yard, and to have it identified on iNat by the lead author of the investigation, Catlin LaBar.

The only known host plants for Asher's Blue are red osier dogwood and possibly Ocean Spray. Since we have several Ocean Spray bushes in the yard, maybe we'll get lucky and find some caterpillars on them.

iNaturalist photo — iNaturalist observation by Norbert Kondla

Links: iNaturalist; BugGuide; Missoula Butterfly House; A new species of Celastrina from the northwestern United States

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