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 433 - 456 of 7147 verified sightings
Observation date: Aug 19, 2016
Submitted by: Debo Boddiford
Region: Burke County, Georgia, United States
Verified by: Mikelchap
Verified date: Aug 13, 2022
Observation date: Aug 19, 2016
Submitted by: Debo Boddiford
Region: Burke County, Georgia, United States
Verified by: Mikelchap
Verified date: Aug 13, 2022
Observation date: Aug 11, 2022
Submitted by: Allen B
Region: Fentress County, Tennessee, United States
Verified by: Allen B
Verified date: Aug 12, 2022
Observation date: Aug 06, 2022
Submitted by: radek_smolec
Region: Santa Barbara County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Aug 10, 2022
Observation date: Jul 18, 2022
Submitted by: Cascade Colors
Region: Jefferson County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: mikefisher
Verified date: Aug 10, 2022
Observation date: Aug 04, 2022
Submitted by: Seth Mueller
Region: San Bernardino County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Aug 07, 2022
Observation date: Sep 08, 2021
Submitted by: James Steen
Region: Harvey County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: James Steen
Verified date: Aug 07, 2022
Observation date: Jul 20, 2022
Submitted by: Davi
Region: Washington County, Oregon, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Aug 03, 2022
Observation date: Jul 28, 2022
Submitted by: Janet Ruth
Region: Bernalillo County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Aug 02, 2022
Observation date: Jul 30, 2022
Submitted by: Jonathan Coffin
Region: Los Angeles County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Aug 02, 2022
Observation date: Jul 27, 2022
Submitted by: JudyLY
Region: Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Jul 31, 2022
Observation date: Jul 29, 2022
Submitted by: lumpydave84
Region: Suffolk County, New York, United States
Verified by: jmgesell
Verified date: Jul 30, 2022
Observation date: Jun 01, 2022
Submitted by: hasfitz5
Region: Contra Costa County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Jul 29, 2022
Observation date: Jul 23, 2022
Submitted by: robertpb
Region: Ventura County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Jul 28, 2022
Observation date: Jul 28, 2022
Submitted by: jhdwelly
Region: Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Jul 28, 2022
Observation date: Jul 08, 2022
Submitted by: jrmbutterfly
Region: British Columbia, Canada
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: Jul 28, 2022
Observation date: Jul 22, 2022
Submitted by: jhdwelly
Region: Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Jul 23, 2022
Observation date: Jul 13, 2022
Submitted by: Cascade Colors
Region: Arapahoe County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: mikefisher
Verified date: Jul 19, 2022
Observation date: Jul 19, 2022
Submitted by: Walking._.with....
Region: Harford County, Maryland, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Jul 19, 2022
Observation date: Jun 18, 2022
Submitted by: tjay13
Region: Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Jul 16, 2022
Observation date: Jun 23, 2022
Submitted by: Mapper
Region: Johnson County, Illinois, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jul 16, 2022
Observation date: Sep 07, 2020
Submitted by: Sue Bocchicchio
Region: Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Jul 16, 2022
Observation date: Jul 04, 2022
Submitted by: Lisahug
Region: Napa County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Jul 06, 2022
Observation date: Jun 29, 2022
Submitted by: JudyLY
Region: Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Jul 04, 2022
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