Appalachian azure
Celastrina neglectamajor
Butterfly
A pale blue woodland azure whose caterpillars feed almost exclusively on the flower buds of black cohosh. It flies in a single brood timed to that bloom, so the butterfly is only present where mature stands of its host grow. That makes it a specialist tie rather than another generalist nectar visitor, and it is local and uncommon wherever that rich-woodland understory has been lost.
Plants in the catalog
Larval host plants · 1
Black cohosh is the primary larval host: the caterpillars feed on the flower buds, and the single brood is timed to that bloom, so the butterfly occurs only where mature stands grow.
Range
Appalachian region of the eastern United States, from Pennsylvania and West Virginia south through Virginia and the Carolinas into Georgia, and west into Arkansas, following the range of its host plant.
Sources & citations
Cite this page
Use this citation for the Plotwright wildlife page. The source cards below show the upstream references behind the taxonomy, range, conservation, host, forage, and habitat claims.
Plotwright. (n.d.). Appalachian azure (Celastrina neglectamajor). Retrieved 2026, July 31, from https://plotwright.com/wildlife/appalachian-azure
Sources for wildlife facts
10 cited fact fields are backed by the source cards below.
BAMONA: Appalachian azure
Species profile for the single brood, Appalachian range, and the Actaea racemosa larval host.
Backs 4 fields
Taxonomy
Range
Lifecycle
Host plants
GBIF: Celastrina neglectamajor
GBIF backbone key 4300011 is an exact accepted match for Celastrina neglectamajor in family Lycaenidae.
Backs 2 fields
Taxonomy
Range
iNaturalist: Celastrina neglectamajor
iNaturalist taxon 82793 is the active species record; the three images on this page are research-grade observations from it, used under their per-photo CC BY licences.
Backs 2 fields
Taxonomy
Range
Wikipedia: Celastrina neglectamajor
Corroborating reference for the black cohosh host association.
Backs 2 fields
Taxonomy
Host plants