Attributes of Atlides halesus
Great Purple Hairstreak
Atlides halesus (Cramer, 1777)
Family: Lycaenidae
Subfamily: Theclinae
Identification: Hindwing with one short and one long tail. Abdomen is blue on top, red-orange beneath. Upperside black with wide-spread iridescent blue. Underside black with iridescent gold markings near tails.
Wing Span: 1 1/4 - 2 inches (3.2 - 5.1 cm).
Life History: Males perch on treetops or other tall objects in the afternoon, watching for receptive females. Caterpillars eat leaves and male flowers of the host plant. Chrysalids hibernate in crevices at base of host tree or under loose bark.
Flight: Three flights from March-December.
Caterpillar Hosts: Mistletoe (Phoradendron species) growing on several tree species.
Adult Food: Nectar from flowers including goldenrod, Hercules club, shepherd's needle, sweet pepperbush, and wild plum.
Habitat: Oak woods, mesquite forests, planted walnuts in agricultural or suburban areas, and mixed woods infested with mistletoe.
Range: Guatemala north to central California, east through Texas and southern Missouri to Maryland.
Conservation: Not usually required.
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management Needs: None reported.
Taxonomy Notes:
Images of Atlides halesus
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The map below displays all verified sighting records in the BAMONA database for this species. Each record is indicated with a yellow dot. The orange dots on the map provide access to information about the 400 most recently verified sightings of this species. In some instances, there are several records at the same location. Use the table view to access these records.
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The fifty most recently verified sightings are below. See more recently verified sightings of all species.
| Observation Date | Submitter | Region |
Verified Date |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Somerset County, New Jersey, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Cape May County, New Jersey, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Essex County, New Jersey, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Gloucester County, New Jersey, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Camden County, New Jersey, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Baldwin County, Alabama, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Calhoun County, Alabama, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Cullman County, Alabama, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Lee County, Alabama, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Madison County, Alabama, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Montgomery County, Alabama, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Crawford County, Arkansas, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Faulkner County, Arkansas, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Independence County, Arkansas, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Miller County, Arkansas, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Pulaski County, Arkansas, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Washington County, Arkansas, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Mohave County, Arizona, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Mohave County, Arizona, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Yavapai County, Arizona, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Coconino County, Arizona, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Coconino County, Arizona, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Apache County, Arizona, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Apache County, Arizona, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Greenlee County, Arizona, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Graham County, Arizona, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Gila County, Arizona, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Pinal County, Arizona, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Maricopa County, Arizona, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | La Paz County, Arizona, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Yuma County, Arizona, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Cochise County, Arizona, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Navajo County, Arizona, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Alameda County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Amador County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Butte County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Calaveras County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Colusa County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Contra Costa County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | El Dorado County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Fresno County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Glenn County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Imperial County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Inyo County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Kern County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Kings County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Lake County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Lassen County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Los Angeles County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details |
