National Moth Week is July 18-26!
Moths are amazing creatures. Take photographs and share your moth sightings with us to document the moths where you live.
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 505 - 528 of 7147 verified sightings
Observation date: Feb 11, 2022
Submitted by: Rmclaughlin
Region: Pima County, Arizona, United States
Verified by: John Saba
Verified date: Feb 13, 2022
Observation date: Feb 10, 2022
Submitted by: mstanek
Region: Los Angeles County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Feb 11, 2022
Observation date: Feb 09, 2022
Submitted by: mstanek
Region: Ventura County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Feb 10, 2022
Observation date: Jun 20, 2021
Submitted by: Gordon Berman
Region: Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Feb 08, 2022
Observation date: Sep 16, 2019
Submitted by: rogerashton
Region: Cape May County, New Jersey, United States
Verified by: Allen B
Verified date: Feb 05, 2022
Observation date: Jun 19, 2019
Submitted by: pmrules21
Region: Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States
Verified by: Allen B
Verified date: Jan 30, 2022
Observation date: Jan 20, 2022
Submitted by: ncrosbyrd
Region: McIntosh County, Georgia, United States
Verified by: Mikelchap
Verified date: Jan 21, 2022
Observation date: Sep 29, 2018
Submitted by: MrILoveTheAnts
Region: New Castle County, Delaware, United States
Verified by: BarbSendelbach
Verified date: Jan 17, 2022
Observation date: Aug 10, 2021
Submitted by: jamesvonloh
Region: Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Jan 10, 2022
Observation date: Sep 14, 2019
Submitted by: Javajane
Region: Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States
Verified by: Allen B
Verified date: Jan 10, 2022
Observation date: Nov 07, 2021
Submitted by: bonfrey
Region: Socorro County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Jan 04, 2022
Observation date: Sep 07, 2019
Submitted by: reupurtbones
Region: Metcalfe County, Kentucky, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Jan 02, 2022
Observation date: Sep 28, 2013
Submitted by: RStankiewicz
Region: Pima County, Arizona, United States
Verified by: John Saba
Verified date: Dec 31, 2021
Observation date: Dec 25, 2021
Submitted by: Marta Reece
Region: Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Dec 28, 2021
Observation date: Aug 10, 2019
Submitted by: jmacmetro
Region: Bergen County, New Jersey, United States
Verified by: Allen B
Verified date: Dec 08, 2021
Observation date: Dec 02, 2021
Submitted by: JudyLY
Region: Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Dec 07, 2021
Observation date: Nov 28, 2021
Submitted by: cjgoin
Region: Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Dec 04, 2021
Observation date: Jul 17, 2021
Submitted by: byeallison
Region: Lane County, Oregon, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Nov 30, 2021
Observation date: Aug 23, 2017
Submitted by: evangareth
Region: District of Columbia, United States
Verified by: Allen B
Verified date: Nov 30, 2021
Observation date: May 27, 2017
Submitted by: Mark Salvato
Region: Suwannee County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Nov 21, 2021
Observation date: Jun 17, 2021
Submitted by: jrtindall
Region: Mercer County, New Jersey, United States
Verified by: Allen B
Verified date: Nov 19, 2021
Observation date: Sep 02, 2021
Submitted by: DVL
Region: District of Columbia, United States
Verified by: Allen B
Verified date: Nov 18, 2021
Observation date: Jul 05, 2021
Submitted by: BarbSendelbach
Region: Albany County, New York, United States
Verified by: BarbSendelbach
Verified date: Nov 16, 2021
Observation date: Aug 25, 2018
Submitted by: Kymaera88
Region: Suffolk County, New York, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Nov 14, 2021
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