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.
Get your BAMONA Gear!
Please donate!
We depend on donations to keep Butterflies and Moths of North America freely available. We want to express our gratitude to all who showed their support by making a contribution this year. You can donate to support this project at any time.
Advertise with us!
Do you have a product or service that you think would interest BAMONA users? If you would like to advertise on this website, contact us by email, or use the contact form and select the "Advertising" category.
Verified Sightings
Displaying 1 - 24 of 6918 verified sightings
Observation date: Apr 12, 2024
Submitted by: Ed Rothwell
Region: Grundy County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Apr 16, 2024
Observation date: Apr 05, 2024
Submitted by: Pkleinsasser
Region: Flagler County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Apr 08, 2024
Observation date: Sep 12, 2023
Submitted by: seemayer
Region: Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: James Steen
Verified date: Apr 01, 2024
Observation date: Jun 27, 2009
Submitted by: Ken Cheeks
Region: Burke County, Georgia, United States
Verified by: Mikelchap
Verified date: Mar 26, 2024
Observation date: Jun 27, 2009
Submitted by: Ken Cheeks
Region: Burke County, Georgia, United States
Verified by: Mikelchap
Verified date: Mar 26, 2024
Observation date: Feb 22, 2024
Submitted by: WL77
Region: Texas, McLennan County, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Mar 22, 2024
Observation date: Mar 14, 2024
Submitted by: dtibbetts@live.com
Region: Hamilton County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Mar 16, 2024
Observation date: Mar 04, 2024
Submitted by: pamelmmc
Region: Harris County, Texas, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Mar 12, 2024
Observation date: Mar 10, 2024
Submitted by: MAKI
Region: Ventura County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Mar 11, 2024
Observation date: Sep 09, 2023
Submitted by: terrymortier
Region: Dunn County, Wisconsin, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Mar 05, 2024
Observation date: Feb 25, 2024
Submitted by: asombro_institute
Region: Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Mar 02, 2024
Observation date: Feb 23, 2024
Submitted by: SaxPat
Region: Hays County, Texas, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Feb 26, 2024
Observation date: Feb 16, 2024
Submitted by: mstanek
Region: Ventura County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Feb 17, 2024
Observation date: Jan 29, 2024
Submitted by: Zencoyote
Region: San Diego County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Feb 02, 2024
Observation date: May 18, 2021
Submitted by: Palmiera
Region: Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Jan 24, 2024
Observation date: Jun 19, 2021
Submitted by: Palmiera
Region: Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States
Verified by: Dennis Forsythe
Verified date: Jan 23, 2024
Observation date: Dec 29, 2023
Submitted by: tjunderwood
Region: Pima County, Arizona, United States
Verified by: John Saba
Verified date: Jan 18, 2024
Observation date: Aug 15, 1990
Submitted by: James Steen
Region: Riverside County, California, United States
Verified by: James Steen
Verified date: Jan 06, 2024
Observation date: Oct 29, 2023
Submitted by: mcvaugh@gmail.com
Region: Contra Costa County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Dec 21, 2023
Observation date: Jun 21, 2023
Submitted by: stevecary
Region: Sierra County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Dec 04, 2023
Observation date: Oct 13, 2023
Submitted by: talinabug
Region: Alameda County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Dec 01, 2023
Observation date: Nov 17, 2023
Submitted by: jrmbutterfly
Region: Arizona, United States
Verified by: John Saba
Verified date: Nov 20, 2023
Observation date: Oct 11, 2023
Submitted by: kericson
Region: Polk County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Nov 08, 2023
Observation date: Oct 09, 2023
Submitted by: Sue Bocchicchio
Region: Orange County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Nov 06, 2023
- 1 of 289
- next ›