Arizona Azure butterfly

Several dainty Azure butterflies (Celastrina ladon) 🦋 congregated around some wet dirt where I had poured out some water while I was prospecting down in Stanton.

These little butterflies are widespread, occurring across almost all of the continental United States but are easy to miss due to their diminutive size.

Since this area is so dry any bot of moisture (not matter how fleeting) is likely to be a magnet for insects and it was nice to see a smal flock of Azures enjoying the moisture and nutrients from the damp sand.