Bug FAQCassius Blue
Leptotes cassius · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Lycaenidae
Also called: Tropical Striped Blue
Cassius blue (Leptotes cassius) is a small butterfly with a wingspan of about 20 to 35 mm. It lives in Florida, the Keys, Texas, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America and South America. The caterpillars eat legumes such as Amorpha crenulata, woolly rattlepod, Galactia regularis and lima bean.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Leptotes cassius, known as the Cassius blue or tropical striped blue, belongs to the Lycaenidae family.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Its wingspan ranges from 20 to 35 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It is found in Florida (including the Keys), Texas, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America and South America.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Caterpillars feed on plants in the legume family, including Amorpha crenulata, woolly rattlepod, Galactia regularis and lima bean.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its native range covers the same areas as its habitat: Florida, the Keys, Texas, the Caribbean, Mexico, Central America and South America.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 16 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Florida, Texas, South Carolina, California, Georgia, Arizona, North Carolina, Ohio.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Same family (Lycaenidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leptotes_cassius
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.