About Thecla azia Hewitson, 1873
Ministrymon azia, commonly known as the gray ministreak, is a butterfly species belonging to the family Lycaenidae. Its scientific name was originally published as Thecla azia by Hewitson in 1873. This butterfly occurs across a range stretching from the southern United States down to southern Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina. It can be found in nearly all lowland habitats, covering areas from the coastal deserts of Peru and Chile to the rainforests of the Amazon basin. The wingspan of adult gray ministreak butterflies measures between 16 and 24 mm. In Florida and Texas, adults are active in flight from March through September, while they are active year-round across most of the tropics. Adult butterflies feed on nectar from a variety of flowering plants, which include Leucaena leucocephala, Melilotus alba, Cynoglossum amabile, Bidens alba, Turnera ulmifolia, Mimosa pudica, and species in the genus Acacia. The larvae of this species feed on the flowers of a diverse range of plants in the legume family Fabaceae. Host plants for larvae include Acacia species, Mimosa species including Mimosa malacophylla, Leucaena species including Leucaena leucocephala, and Lysiloma bahamensis.
