Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
 

News

BugGuide will be undergoing maintenance January 14.

Clickable Guide

Interactive image map to choose major taxa Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Possible 2026 BugGuide gathering in Texas?

National Moth Week was July 19-27, and the Summer 2025 gathering in Louisiana, July 19-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2024 BugGuide gathering in Idaho July 24-27

Moth submissions from National Moth Week 2024

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2
Photo#1697929
Tailed Blue without Orange Spots - Cupido comyntas
Copyright © 2019 Lynn Strauss

Tailed Blue without Orange Spots - Cupido comyntas

Tracys Landing, Anne Arundel County, Maryland, USA
June 7, 2017
I do not have a photo with wings closed. I have three photos taken at this angle and there are no orange spots as would be expected if the was a Cupido comyntas - Eastern Tailed-Blue - Hodges#4361.

There are some photos of Cupido amyntula - Western Tailed-Blue - Hodges#4362 without orange spots. There are 3 records of the Western Tailed-Blue on the east coast. One of those in New Brunswick looks similar. Maryland is a long way from New Hampshire and New Brunswick.
tag · login or register to post comments
Contributed by Lynn Strauss on 22 July, 2019 - 1:41pm
Last updated 22 July, 2019 - 7:53pm

Comments

Moved
This variation appears to be male oriented.

Moved from ID Request.
… Cliff Ivy, 22 July, 2019 - 7:53pm login or register to post comments

It's true, it doesn't have any orange,
but if you look closely, there are dark spots on the margin, and the largest dark spot is where the "main" orange spot would be on an Eastern Tailed-blue. Otherwise the butterfly looks "fresh" like it eclosed just recently, and it's not missing the orange because it's faded out.
… SalAmmoniac, 22 July, 2019 - 2:59pm login or register to post comments

 
Thank you!
I am an amateur. I have now learned eclosed, aka fresh.

Do you think this is a fresh Cupido comyntas? Is it perhaps something else. I don't know. I am an amateur enjoying every comment and thought about the creatures I see. Thank you for sharing your thoughts! I can't tell you how much I appreciate them.

BugGuide is amazing. It is also a work in progress that is progressing. Perhaps some day there will be delineations for eclosed, etc... :)
… Lynn Strauss, 22 July, 2019 - 3:18pm login or register to post comments

 
Hey,
"eclose" means to emerge from egg to larva, or from chrysalis to adult (for insects). So if a butterfly just eclosed, it will have bright colors.

And yes, bugguide is pretty awesome :)
… SalAmmoniac, 31 July, 2019 - 2:03pm login or register to post comments

Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click 'Save settings' to activate your changes.

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2026 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology at Iowa State University logo

 Terms of Use
Privacy Statement
Site Map
Contact