Butterflies of North Carolina:
their Distribution and Abundance
Common Name: Scientific Name:
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Number of records: 255,694
Related Species in LYCAENIDAE:
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Common NameCassius Blue by Mark Jones => New Hanover, 2006-08-27, first record for NC
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Scientific NameLeptotes cassius
Link to BAMONA species account.
MapClick on a county for list of all database records for the species in that county.
Flight Chart
Common NameCassius Blue
Scientific NameLeptotes cassius
DistributionDISTRIBUTION: Known from just two coastal counties (New Hanover and Carteret). It was first recorded in 2006 in New Hanover. The species was also found in the same location in 2007 and in 2010, strongly suggesting that a local colony had been established there for at least five summer seasons. In July 2025, photos were taken at Fort Macon State Park in Carteret County. This species, essentially resident only in Florida (in the United States), has also established local (but very sporadic) breeding colonies in Charleston and Horry counties in SC and at a site in southeastern VA in 2001.
AbundanceABUNDANCE: An accidental visitor to NC, where it established a single known breeding site from 2006-10, and a single report from Carteret in 2025. It is not considered a northbound migrant, and these outposts undoubtedly were established by gravid females laying eggs on foodplants while in the local area, or by eggs/larvae/pupae already present on the foodplants when brought to nurseries and then sold to, and planted by, gardeners. New generations become established, and apparently persist for a few years.
FlightFLIGHT PERIOD: The records in NC are August 27, 2006; August 29, 2007; the latter part of July 2010, all by a single observer in his yard in Wilmington -- and July 9, 2025. Nate Dias has noted in Charleston, SC, that "we see new emergence events from March - December. I have seen adults every month of the year except February. The larvae are tough to spot (for me anyway). Our numbers of adults peak in August-October generally." One must wonder if there is a "spring" brood at all in NC (i.e., if the life cycle at such a northern site does not "produce" adults on the wing until July or August).
HabitatHABITAT: The species has a great range of habitats in FL, but they are mostly ruderal, such that it is found in weedy lots, gardens, roadsides, forest edges, and other open or semi-open areas. In the Carolinas, the habitat is essentially yards and gardens along and near the coast, especially where larval foodplants are found. The Carteret record was from a maritime forest edge.
PlantsFOOD AND NECTAR PLANTS: Legumes (Fabaceae) are the primary foodplants in Florida. However, the most frequent foodplants in SC (if not in other parts of the range, including NC) are leadworts (Plumbago spp.), a group of plants in the family Plumbaginaceae. Leadworts are not native to the Carolinas, but they are commonly sold at nurseries. Most colonies in SC are suspected of being started around plantings of these low evergreen shrubs, according to Nate Dias. The species is not particular in nectar plants; individuals in Wilmington nectared on Mexican Heather (Cuphea hyssopifolia) and Lantana (Lantana strigocamara). The Carteret individual appeared to be ovipositing, with the butterfly using a pennywort, believed to be Hydrocotyle bonariensis.
CommentsCOMMENTS: It was a great surprise when Mark Jones notified several butterfliers in January 2011 that he believed he had photos of Cassius Blues taken in his Wilmington yard in recent years. Sure enough, the three photos (of two individuals) were indeed of that species, establishing a first state record. As mentioned above, the fact that all three records, at a single site over a five-summer period, were from a single yard, makes it clear that these (in 2007 and 2010) cannot simply be migrants/vagrants coming up from FL, especially as it is known that the species establishes local colonies in Charleston and at a few other sites in SC. Apparently the Wilmington colony did not survive the bitterly cold winter of 2010-2011; none were reported at all in 2011, despite some search. Though individuals are reported nearly every summer and fall in coastal SC, it was not until July 2025 when another Cassius Blue was found in NC, by Josh Emm and Randy Newman.
State Status (first) and Rank (second)none - SA
Federal Status (first) and Global Rank (second)none - G5
Synonym
Other Name
Links to other butterfly galleries: [Cook] [Lynch] [Pippen] [Pugh]
Photo by: Randy Newman
Comment: Carteret Co.; Fort Macon State Park. 2025-07-09
Cassius Blue - Click to enlarge 		Photo by: Randy Newman
Comment: Carteret Co.; Fort Macon State Park. 2025-07-09
Cassius Blue - Click to enlarge
Photo by: Mark Jones
Comment: New Hanover Co.; 2007-Aug-29
Cassius Blue - Click to enlarge 		Photo by: Mark Jones
Comment: New Hanover Co.; 2006-Aug-27
Cassius Blue - Click to enlarge