Hemiargus ceraunus

Hemiargus ceraunus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Lycaenidae
Genus:	Hemiargus
Species:	H. ceraunus
Binomial name
Hemiargus ceraunus (Fabricius, 1793)
Synonyms
Hesperia ceraunus Fabricius, 1793 Hemiargus hanno watsoni Comstock & Huntington, 1943 Hemiargus antibubastus Hübner, 1818 Argus pseudoptiletes Boisduval & Le Conte, [1835] Lycaena ceraunus astenidas Lucas, 1857 Lampides zachaeina Butler & Druce, 1872 Lycaena gyas Edwards, 1871 Lycaena astragala Wright, 1905 Lycaena florencia Clémence, 1914

Hemiargus ceraunus, the Ceraunus blue, is a butterfly in the Lycaenidae family. It is found in the southwestern United States, southern Texas, Florida and the Florida Keys south through the West Indies, Mexico and Central America to South America. Strays may be found in North Carolina, Missouri, Kansas and Nevada. The habitat consists of open woodland, desert scrub, dunes, pastures, road edges and vacant lots.

The wingspan is 20–30 mm. The upperside of the males is light blue with a darker narrow border. Female are dark brown, often with blue wing bases. The underside is gray. Both wings have a row of dark postmedian dashes on the underside. Adults are on wing year round in Texas and southern Florida and in late summer in other parts of the range. Adults feed on flower nectar.

The larvae feed on the flowers and seedpods of various woody legumes, including Cassia brachiata, Abrus precatorius and Prosopis species.

Subspecies

• Hemiargus ceraunus antibubastus Hübner, [1818] (Florida)
• Hemiargus ceraunus astenidas (Lucas, 1857) (Mexico, Costa Rica)
• Hemiargus ceraunus gyas (Edwards, 1871) (Arizona, California)