Summer Azure 
Celastrina neglecta

Summer Azure (Celastrina neglecta) is our most widespread and common azure. Because it sometimes has a “late winter-early spring” flight, azures seen before mid-March should be identified either by hostplant association or by seeing the dorsal side, which is a good rule for all pre-July azures due to the complication of Appalachian Azure in the Mountains and Atlantic Holly Azure on the Coast. When no hostplants are available, neglecta skips the “late winter-early spring” flight. In Summer Azure, “males are bright blue on the dorsal and have strong development of white wing veins on the leading edge of the dorsal forewing. (Spring Azure (C. ladon) males are uniformly violet blue on the dorsal, with no veins evident.) Female C. neglecta are similar to males in the development of white wing veins.” (Harry Pavulaan 2019). So, yes, it’s hard to get a definite identification on springtime azures! “In the winter-spring brood of Summer Azure, the ventral ground color is steely gray with very crisp spots that tend toward the small side, while in C. ladon the ventral ground color is slightly darker gray or even brownish and the spots are somewhat “fuzzy” or on the large side.” (Pavulaan). The summer broods of neglecta begins in late May or early June depending on the regions of the state and continue into September, with a few lingering into early October. The hostplants are New Jersey tea (Ceanothus americanus), which is frequently used in April and May, blackhaw (Viburnum prunifolium), wingstem (Verbesina alternifolia), mountain mints (Pycnanthemum pycnanthemoides and Pycnanthemum incanum) and others. Venter is very white and dark markings are reduced to mere dashes and dots. On the dorsum, males and females both show white infusion on HWs arranged in rays between wing veins.