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Description
Drawing made for this . The eastern tailed-blue (Cupido comyntas, sometimes referred to under the subgenus Everes comyntas), is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae, commonly known as the blues, that lives along the east coast of North America from as far north as south Canada all the way down to Central America. Like other lycaenids, the eastern tailed-blue is a small butterfly, with a wingspan under 3 centimetres. It is a common insect across its range, and while many lycaenid butterflies look similar this species can be distinguished from others in its range by the small tail-like protrusions on its hindwings (but such a feature isn’t exclusive to this species, other lycaenids across the world have this). When faced with a predator and it cannot flee in time, the insect may twitch these “tails” about to mimic antennae and distract predators from its actual head, as losing part of the wing is easier to survive than decapitation. The upper side of the wings have different patterns from the underside, being bright blue in males and kinda brown in females, though other colour variants are known (like a shiny Pokemon). The underside colour is the one shown in the picture, I’m not gonna describe it since you’re not blind and can see it.

While some butterflies can only feed on one species of plant when in the larva stage (commonly called a caterpillar), the eastern tailed-blue can feed on many species of legumes. The plant pictured here is the round-headed bush clover (Lespedeza capitata), which grows 30 to 60 centimetres tall and is most common within the state of Illinois, USA. Eggs of the tailed blue are laid on such host plants and upon hatching the larvae will eat the leaves and flowers. The caterpillars come in many colour variants such as the green and brown ones pictured here. In addition there is also a pupa (cocoon/chrysalis) on a leaf of the bush clover pictured here. Notably, the caterpillars of this butterfly have established a symbiotic relationship with various ants as the caterpillars can produce a liquid valued by the ants as food, so the ants in turn defend the caterpillars from predators. While I can find many sources mentioning this symbiosis, I can’t find a single one saying exactly which ant species does this with this butterfly. The ants shown here are the odorous house ant (Tapinoma sessile), also known as the sugar ant, stink ant or coconut ant. This ant is known to have the same symbiotic relationship with other insects like aphids and scale insects (which also produce the juice) and so I thought it was plausible that this one would farm caterpillars too.

In the picture, the multiple life stages of the eastern tailed-blue are shown together in a field in Illinois, USA, with two larvae and a pupa on a round-headed bush clover, and an adult about to land on the plant to feed on the nectar of its flowers. The larvae are being tended to by some odorous house ants, which gently touch the young insects to make it leak juice (which sounds kinda creepy and like a sexual predator if you think about it honestly). Also a bunch of random generic grass makes up the field they are in. No specific species of grass, just random green strokes here.

Description
Drawing made for this . The eastern tailed-blue (Cupido comyntas, sometimes referred to under the subgenus Everes comyntas), is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae, commonly known as the blues, that lives along the east coast of North America from as far north as south Canada all the way down to Central America. Like other lycaenids, the eastern tailed-blue is a small butterfly, with a wingspan under 3 centimetres. It is a common insect across its range, and while many lycaenid butterflies look similar this species can be distinguished from others in its range by the small tail-like protrusions on its hindwings (but such a feature isn’t exclusive to this species, other lycaenids across the world have this). When faced with a predator and it cannot flee in time, the insect may twitch these “tails” about to mimic antennae and distract predators from its actual head, as losing part of the wing is easier to survive than decapitation. The upper side of the wings have different patterns from the underside, being bright blue in males and kinda brown in females, though other colour variants are known (like a shiny Pokemon). The underside colour is the one shown in the picture, I’m not gonna describe it since you’re not blind and can see it.

While some butterflies can only feed on one species of plant when in the larva stage (commonly called a caterpillar), the eastern tailed-blue can feed on many species of legumes. The plant pictured here is the round-headed bush clover (Lespedeza capitata), which grows 30 to 60 centimetres tall and is most common within the state of Illinois, USA. Eggs of the tailed blue are laid on such host plants and upon hatching the larvae will eat the leaves and flowers. The caterpillars come in many colour variants such as the green and brown ones pictured here. In addition there is also a pupa (cocoon/chrysalis) on a leaf of the bush clover pictured here. Notably, the caterpillars of this butterfly have established a symbiotic relationship with various ants as the caterpillars can produce a liquid valued by the ants as food, so the ants in turn defend the caterpillars from predators. While I can find many sources mentioning this symbiosis, I can’t find a single one saying exactly which ant species does this with this butterfly. The ants shown here are the odorous house ant (Tapinoma sessile), also known as the sugar ant, stink ant or coconut ant. This ant is known to have the same symbiotic relationship with other insects like aphids and scale insects (which also produce the juice) and so I thought it was plausible that this one would farm caterpillars too.

In the picture, the multiple life stages of the eastern tailed-blue are shown together in a field in Illinois, USA, with two larvae and a pupa on a round-headed bush clover, and an adult about to land on the plant to feed on the nectar of its flowers. The larvae are being tended to by some odorous house ants, which gently touch the young insects to make it leak juice (which sounds kinda creepy and like a sexual predator if you think about it honestly). Also a bunch of random generic grass makes up the field they are in. No specific species of grass, just random green strokes here.