Celastrina

Tutt, 1906

Holarctic Azures

Celastrina is a of small in the , commonly known as the Holarctic Azures. The genus is distributed across the Palearctic, Nearctic, Indomalayan, and Australasian realms. within this genus are typically associated with specific plants, with showing varying degrees of dietary specialization. Several species have been studied in detail for their ecological relationships, including facultative with .

Celastrina neglecta by (c) botanygirl, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by botanygirl. Used under a CC-BY license.

Celastrina neglecta by (c) Christine Betts McAnlis, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Christine Betts McAnlis. Used under a CC-BY license.

Celastrina by (c) SteveM4560, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by SteveM4560. Used under a CC-BY license.

Pronunciation

How to pronounce Celastrina: /sɛˈlæstrɪnə/

These audio files are automatically generated. While they are not always 100% accurate, they are a good starting point.

Images

Habitat

Varies by . Celastrina humulus is associated with riparian areas supporting its wild hops (Humulus lupulus). Celastrina gigas has been recorded from riverbed in the eastern Himalayas.

Distribution

Palearctic, Nearctic, Indomalayan, and Australasian realms. Specific records include: North America (Colorado, Montana, California, Oregon, eastern United States), Europe, Japan, Korea, China (including Tibet and Taiwan), Nepal, northeast India, Burma, Philippines, Borneo, Papua New Guinea, and the western Himalayas.

Seasonality

Spring activity documented for some North . Celastrina ladon (spring azure) and Celastrina lucia (Lucia azure) are among the earliest-emerging in spring in their respective ranges. Celastrina humulus have been monitored during flowering from 2020–2022.

Diet

of Celastrina humulus feed on pollen-bearing of Humulus lupulus var. neomexicanus. Larvae of Celastrina argiolus (holly ) have been documented utilizing plants in 19 different , showing exceptional dietary breadth within the .

Host Associations

Humulus lupulus - larval wild hops; specific association documented for C. humulus

Life Cycle

with , larval, pupal, and stages. Larval development of Celastrina humulus occurs on , with performance varying by phenological stage of the host plant.

Behavior

Celastrina humulus engage in a facultative with , where the likelihood of ant tending varies with flowering . Ant recruitment is reduced on early-stage host plant despite these stages enabling greater larval weight gain. are described as small, active, and difficult to photograph due to persistent flitting and skittish .

More Details

Ant-plant-herbivore interactions

Research on Celastrina humulus demonstrates that - can indirectly mediate through effects on mutualist recruitment. Early-stage host plant contain higher concentrations of soluble and α-acids, which enhance larval growth but simultaneously reduce ant attraction.

Conservation status

Celastrina humulus is considered rare in Colorado and Montana despite being locally abundant at specific sites such as the U.S. Air Force Academy. extinction and probabilities for this are extremely low, suggesting stable where suitable exists.