Attributes of Strymon melinus
Gray Hairstreak
Strymon melinus (Hübner, 1818)
Family: Lycaenidae
Subfamily: Theclinae
Identification: One tail on hindwing. Upperside blue-gray with large red spot near tail. Underside of spring/fall form is dark gray, summer form is paler gray. Relatively straight postmedian line is white, bordered with orange on the inside edge.
Wing Span: 7/8 - 1 3/8 inches (2.2 - 3.5 cm).
Life History: Males perch all afternoon on small trees and shrubs to seek receptive females. Eggs are laid singly on flowers of host plant. Young caterpillars feed on flowers and fruits; older ones may eat leaves. Chrysalids hibernate.
Flight: Two flights from May-September in the north, three-four flights from February-November in the south.
Caterpillar Hosts: Flowers and fruits from an almost endless variety of plants; most often from pea (Fabaceae) and mallow (Malvaceae) families including beans (Phaseolus), clovers (Trifolium), cotton (Gossypium), and mallow (Malva).
Adult Food: Nectar from many flower species including dogbane, milkweed, mint, winter cress, goldenrod, tick trefoil, and white sweet clover.
Habitat: Open, nonforested sites; common in disturbed, weedy areas.
Range: Throughout continental United States from southern Canada south to Mexico; southward to Venezuela. Comments: The most widespread hairstreak in North America.
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: Caterpillars may cause economic damage to bean and cotton crops.
Taxonomy Notes:
Images of Strymon melinus
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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 200 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.
Instructions: Click on the map and move your mouse to pan.
Zoom by using the plus [+] and minus [-] on the left side of the map.
To change which map layers are displayed, click on the plus sign [+] on the right side of the map.
The fifty most recently verified sightings are below. See more recently verified sightings of all species.
| Observation Date | Submitter | Region |
Verified Date |
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May 07, 2012 | Americus Garden Inn | Georgia, Sumter County, United States | May 16, 2012 | Details |
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May 02, 2012 | RICHARD KNIGHT | Jasper County, South Carolina, United States | May 16, 2012 | Details |
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August 12, 2008 | cyric | Jefferson County, Colorado, United States | May 14, 2012 | Details |
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May 07, 2012 | HClenin | Platte County, Missouri, United States | May 08, 2012 | Details |
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May 07, 2012 | cobal2913 | Franklin County, Ohio, United States | May 07, 2012 | Details |
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May 01, 2012 | tkingsto | Texas, Lubbock County, United States | May 03, 2012 | Details |
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April 29, 2012 | slbaird1957 | Texas, Tarrant County, United States | May 03, 2012 | Details |
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April 29, 2012 | jftrahan | Cameron Parish, Louisiana, United States | May 02, 2012 | Details |
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April 21, 2012 | gardenhen | Texas, Travis County, United States | April 21, 2012 | Details |
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August 02, 2011 | Nancy Lea Sandy | Natrona County, Wyoming, United States | April 18, 2012 | Details |
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July 26, 2011 | Rick Henle | Carroll County, New Hampshire, United States | April 06, 2012 | Details |
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March 06, 2012 | jazzyconcetta | Pima County, Arizona, United States | March 31, 2012 | Details |
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July 11, 2011 | pcastrovillo | Valley County, Idaho, United States | March 19, 2012 | Details |
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May 05, 2008 | Chip Krilowicz | Camden County, New Jersey, United States | March 18, 2012 | Details |
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July 08, 2010 | Amateur Entomologist | San Luis Obispo County, California, United States | February 28, 2012 | Details |
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December 21, 2011 | bentert | Collier County, Florida, United States | January 16, 2012 | Details |
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April 02, 2011 | David Stowers | Nevada County, Arkansas, United States | January 04, 2012 | Details |
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October 01, 2011 | Randy L Anderson | Izard County, Arkansas, United States | January 03, 2012 | Details |
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May 22, 2011 | jftrahan | Hempstead County, Arkansas, United States | January 01, 2012 | Details |
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October 15, 2011 | Randy L Anderson | Marion County, Missouri, United States | December 28, 2011 | Details |
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August 21, 2010 | Jim Brighton | Dorchester County, Maryland, United States | December 24, 2011 | Details |
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November 03, 2011 | bentert | Collier County, Florida, United States | December 19, 2011 | Details |
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October 08, 2011 | rseidler | Grant Parish, Louisiana, United States | November 27, 2011 | Details |
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September 15, 2008 | RaisingButterflies.org | Davis County, Utah, United States | November 26, 2011 | Details |
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September 15, 2007 | RaisingButterflies.org | Salt Lake County, Utah, United States | November 26, 2011 | Details |
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June 05, 2011 | gerryq | Latah County, Idaho, United States | November 11, 2011 | Details |
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October 05, 2011 | jftrahan | Cameron Parish, Louisiana, United States | October 29, 2011 | Details |
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October 05, 2011 | rseidler | Cameron Parish, Louisiana, United States | October 29, 2011 | Details |
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October 05, 2011 | rseidler | Cameron Parish, Louisiana, United States | October 29, 2011 | Details |
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September 20, 2011 | Becky Byrum | Delaware County, Indiana, United States | October 22, 2011 | Details |
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October 18, 2011 | webielenberg | Blount County, Tennessee, United States | October 21, 2011 | Details |
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October 16, 2011 | Tonia Graves | Pima County, Arizona, United States | October 19, 2011 | Details |
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August 11, 2011 | Thomas Paine | Douglas County, Washington, United States | October 17, 2011 | Details |
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October 09, 2011 | Doug Bruce | Weakley County, Tennessee, United States | October 15, 2011 | Details |
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October 07, 2011 | Doug Bruce | Wayne County, Tennessee, United States | October 14, 2011 | Details |
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October 09, 2011 | Doug Bruce | Houston County, Tennessee, United States | October 14, 2011 | Details |
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July 09, 2011 | Joe Schelling--entered by M ODonnell | Bernalillo County, New Mexico, United States | September 26, 2011 | Details |
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August 20, 2011 | jftrahan | Cameron Parish, Louisiana, United States | September 23, 2011 | Details |
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July 29, 2003 | rseidler | East Carroll Parish, Louisiana, United States | September 19, 2011 | Details |
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April 23, 2011 | jftrahan | St Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States | September 09, 2011 | Details |
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August 30, 2011 | Marie Daloia | Howard County, Maryland, United States | September 04, 2011 | Details |
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August 11, 2011 | plex1ppus | Spokane County, Washington, United States | August 31, 2011 | Details |
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August 22, 2011 | MelissaKoch | Bernalillo County, New Mexico, United States | August 29, 2011 | Details |
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August 29, 2011 | Randy L Anderson | Henderson County, Illinois, United States | August 29, 2011 | Details |
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August 20, 2011 | Greg Dean | British Columbia, Canada | August 28, 2011 | Details |
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August 26, 2011 | Brad Beatty | Cumberland County, Tennessee, United States | August 27, 2011 | Details |
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July 18, 2011 | gremlin1 | Centre County, Pennsylvania, United States | August 26, 2011 | Details |
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August 18, 2011 | jackstenger | Coles County, Illinois, United States | August 26, 2011 | Details |
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August 22, 2011 | Dave Kinney | Wexford County, Michigan, United States | August 25, 2011 | Details |
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August 18, 2011 | Nancy Weiss | Virginia, United States, Warren County | August 23, 2011 | Details |
