Introducing a new butterfly species: Asher's Blue

For the last few decades, lepidopterists in the west have been uncertain how to classify a variably-marked group of Celastrina (azure butterflies) in the Columbia River watershed. Until now, only two species were known in this area: Celastrina echo and Celastrina lucia. Individuals from east of the Cascades were often lumped with echo but some from Yakima and Kittitas counties were thought to be lucia. However, neither arrangement quite fit and some started questioning if there might actually be a third species involved. In the past 2-3 years, with the help of many regional butterfly enthusiasts, some breakthroughs occurred which I started investigating with two of our regional Celastrina experts. I am excited to present our findings!

Read the journal article here: https://zenodo.org/record/6502157

Celastrina asheri, Asher's Blue, a new butterfly species in western North America.

Range map of Celastrina asheri compared with C. echo and C. lucia.

BioQuip closing...what to do now

Update 3/18/23: a new business has started up and is slowly building their inventory. Keep an eye on EcologySupplies.com!

BioQuip announced last week that they are closing the business on March 11, due to a "perfect storm" of several reasons. They have been the primary supplier of insect collecting and rearing supplies to universities, museums and private researchers in the USA since 1947. I've been a happy customer for going on 20 years. Ever since I heard the announcement, I have been researching numerous websites for alternative sources of the supplies I've relied on from BioQuip over the years. A permanent page link can be found on the left side of my blog: Insect Collecting & Rearing Supplies

Some items are easy to find elsewhere but less convenient because of having to purchase from multiple sources. Other items are either difficult to find or you have to figure out an alternative name to search for, as some items marketed for butterfly collecting have other names in the craft stores or chemical supply companies.

If any of you are able to purchase from these places and feel like sharing your experience please send me an email (contact at left). I will try to keep the page updated with the best places to purchase supplies and any tips that I can come up with.