Spring Azure butterfly, C. ladon, a blue, but it’s possible it could also be a pine white or cabbage white, though it’s really indistinct and lacks markings. This is the proper season for both but it’s not a moth. Diagnostic are the markings on the underside of the wings. A moth will have much more broad forewings.
I bet you money it’s an Azure. Nice find! They’ll be out en masse until the sulfurs and fritillaries come around, then the Monarchs (depending on if you’re in a migration path) and then the skippers, swallowtails and the Mourning Cloaks.
When you see them take note of how many parts of their wings have been checked. Those little divots are bird strikes and imply age. It takes time but you get a sense of the next hatch my how mature the previous hatch is and that’s sometimes indicated by the number on beak divots in the wings. Not to worry, by the time you see them they’ve usually already reproduced. Hakuna Matata.
Wait until you see your first Great Spangled loft over you - and if you do, stay still until it lands. They’re as awesome as Painted Ladies and Milbert’s Tortoiseshells. Always fun to let them chase you!
- Leo
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