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.
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Verified Sightings
Displaying 361 - 384 of 7134 verified sightings
Observation date: Jul 15, 2022
Submitted by: MAKI
Region: Santa Barbara County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Oct 13, 2022
Observation date: Aug 31, 2018
Submitted by: Phil.Delestrez
Region: Morgan County, Georgia, United States
Verified by: Mikelchap
Verified date: Oct 12, 2022
Observation date: May 05, 2021
Submitted by: butterflydev
Region: Texas, Travis County, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Oct 10, 2022
Observation date: Jun 19, 2021
Submitted by: spmaestro
Region: Ellis County, Texas, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Oct 09, 2022
Observation date: Oct 08, 2022
Submitted by: theskyeworld
Region: Bastrop County, Texas, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Oct 08, 2022
Observation date: Aug 23, 2020
Submitted by: Chip Gilbert
Region: Greenville County, South Carolina, United States
Verified by: Dennis Forsythe
Verified date: Oct 08, 2022
Observation date: Oct 01, 2022
Submitted by: billd
Region: Blaine County, Oklahoma, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Oct 06, 2022
Observation date: Oct 01, 2022
Submitted by: DeepSkyKelly
Region: Union County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Oct 04, 2022
Observation date: Sep 16, 2022
Submitted by: jrtindall
Region: Mercer County, New Jersey, United States
Verified by: Allen B
Verified date: Oct 03, 2022
Observation date: Sep 28, 2022
Submitted by: ian pepper
Region: Essex County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Sep 30, 2022
Observation date: Sep 27, 2022
Submitted by: Sapper Dan
Region: Bell County, Texas, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Sep 28, 2022
Observation date: Sep 15, 2022
Submitted by: Bill Hark
Region: Goochland County, Virginia, United States
Verified by: drerbium
Verified date: Sep 27, 2022
Observation date: Sep 10, 2022
Submitted by: Team-Chick
Region: Virginia, York County, United States
Verified by: drerbium
Verified date: Sep 27, 2022
Observation date: Sep 22, 2022
Submitted by: Mzteachuh
Region: San Bernardino County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Sep 24, 2022
Observation date: Sep 12, 2022
Submitted by: Allen B
Region: Fentress County, Tennessee, United States
Verified by: Allen B
Verified date: Sep 24, 2022
Observation date: Sep 17, 2012
Submitted by: J Rachwalski
Region: British Columbia, Canada
Verified by: Paul Prappas
Verified date: Sep 23, 2022
Observation date: Jul 30, 2017
Submitted by: bobscafe
Region: British Columbia, Canada
Verified by: Paul Prappas
Verified date: Sep 23, 2022
Observation date: Sep 15, 2022
Submitted by: Cactuswren1976
Region: Los Alamos County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Sep 19, 2022
Observation date: Sep 12, 2022
Submitted by: Linda May
Region: Georgia, Spalding County, United States
Verified by: Mikelchap
Verified date: Sep 19, 2022
Observation date: Sep 17, 2022
Submitted by: mstanek
Region: Los Angeles County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Sep 18, 2022
Observation date: Sep 18, 2022
Submitted by: James Steen
Region: Harvey County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: James Steen
Verified date: Sep 18, 2022
Observation date: Sep 18, 2022
Submitted by: James Steen
Region: Harvey County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: James Steen
Verified date: Sep 18, 2022
Observation date: Sep 17, 2022
Submitted by: butterflies4us
Region: San Diego County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Sep 17, 2022
Observation date: Sep 04, 2022
Submitted by: Patricia12
Region: Ventura County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Sep 16, 2022
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