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.
Comments: NULL
Verified Sightings
Displaying 1 - 24 of 6033 verified sightings
Observation date: Mar 14, 2019
Submitted by: Aggielacie
Region: Bexar County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Mar 24, 2019
Observation date: Mar 20, 2019
Submitted by: Aggielacie
Region: Bexar County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Mar 24, 2019
Observation date: Aug 10, 2011
Submitted by: ButterflySal
Region: Hamilton County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Feb 28, 2019
Observation date: Jan 26, 2019
Submitted by: hiker96
Region: Maricopa County, Arizona, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Feb 06, 2019
Observation date: Jan 27, 2019
Submitted by: MAKI
Region: California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Jan 29, 2019
Observation date: Oct 23, 2018
Submitted by: Zencoyote
Region: San Diego County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Jan 28, 2019
Observation date: Sep 10, 2018
Submitted by: mathgeek
Region: Jackson County, Illinois, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jan 08, 2019
Observation date: Jun 14, 2018
Submitted by: MaynorOvando
Region: Petén, Guatemala
Verified by: Doug Taron
Verified date: Dec 12, 2018
Observation date: Nov 06, 2018
Submitted by: Jeff Trahan
Region: Hidalgo County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Nov 25, 2018
Observation date: May 14, 2018
Submitted by: Actiaslunabelle
Region: British Columbia, Canada
Verified by: Norbert Kondla
Verified date: Nov 24, 2018
Observation date: Jul 03, 2018
Submitted by: RobertWeeden
Region: British Columbia, Canada
Verified by: Norbert Kondla
Verified date: Nov 24, 2018
Observation date: Oct 11, 2018
Submitted by: treichard
Region: Los Angeles County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Nov 18, 2018
Observation date: Oct 10, 2018
Submitted by: treichard
Region: Los Angeles County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Nov 17, 2018
Observation date: Apr 05, 2018
Submitted by: marley
Region: Bexar County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Nov 13, 2018
Observation date: Sep 23, 2018
Submitted by: Annava
Region: Los Angeles County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Nov 06, 2018
Observation date: Sep 08, 2018
Submitted by: greggie
Region: San Diego County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Oct 26, 2018
Observation date: Sep 16, 2018
Submitted by: A_baldini (Mark Baldini)
Region: Weld County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: A_baldini
Verified date: Oct 24, 2018
Observation date: Aug 08, 2018
Submitted by: Jodygo
Region: Texas, Travis County, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Oct 18, 2018
Observation date: Oct 07, 2018
Submitted by: nrpeters
Region: Washington County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Oct 18, 2018
Observation date: Oct 14, 2018
Submitted by: loyallonghorn
Region: Fort Bend County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Oct 15, 2018
Observation date: Oct 14, 2018
Submitted by: tracielrodgers
Region: Collin County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Oct 14, 2018
Observation date: Aug 17, 2017
Submitted by: mbalame99
Region: Clatsop County, Oregon, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Oct 13, 2018
Observation date: Sep 18, 2018
Submitted by: Jeff Trahan
Region: Wakulla County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Oct 13, 2018
Observation date: Sep 24, 2018
Submitted by: hiker96
Region: Maricopa County, Arizona, United States
Verified by: John Saba
Verified date: Oct 11, 2018
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