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.
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 577 - 600 of 7147 verified sightings
Observation date: Sep 21, 2021
Submitted by: cassesk@yahoo.com
Region: Fulton County, Georgia, United States
Verified by: Mikelchap
Verified date: Sep 22, 2021
Observation date: Aug 20, 2021
Submitted by: Debo Boddiford
Region: Georgia, Screven County, United States
Verified by: Mikelchap
Verified date: Sep 21, 2021
Observation date: Sep 10, 2021
Submitted by: Grismo
Region: Carroll County, Georgia, United States
Verified by: Mikelchap
Verified date: Sep 14, 2021
Observation date: Sep 12, 2021
Submitted by: lantana
Region: Suffolk County, New York, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 13, 2021
Observation date: May 25, 2019
Submitted by: jrmbutterfly
Region: British Columbia, Canada
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: Sep 11, 2021
Observation date: May 24, 2021
Submitted by: Mark Salvato
Region: Crosby County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Sep 11, 2021
Observation date: Jun 18, 2021
Submitted by: ames-2
Region: Collin County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Sep 11, 2021
Observation date: Aug 29, 2021
Submitted by: JudyLY
Region: Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Sep 10, 2021
Observation date: Aug 26, 2021
Submitted by: Aner
Region: Bernalillo County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Sep 09, 2021
Observation date: Jul 12, 2020
Submitted by: Mark Salvato
Region: Indian River County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Sep 07, 2021
Observation date: Jun 07, 2020
Submitted by: Mark Salvato
Region: Indian River County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Sep 07, 2021
Observation date: May 11, 2021
Submitted by: ncrosbyrd
Region: Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Sep 01, 2021
Observation date: Aug 31, 2021
Submitted by: Christinalea
Region: Texas, Wichita County, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Aug 31, 2021
Observation date: Aug 28, 2021
Submitted by: ezeemonee
Region: Santa Barbara County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Aug 31, 2021
Observation date: Aug 21, 2021
Submitted by: ncrosbyrd
Region: McIntosh County, Georgia, United States
Verified by: Mikelchap
Verified date: Aug 30, 2021
Observation date: Aug 22, 2021
Submitted by: mstanek
Region: Santa Barbara County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Aug 23, 2021
Observation date: Aug 10, 2021
Submitted by: Cpittser
Region: Josephine County, Oregon, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Aug 23, 2021
Observation date: Aug 07, 2021
Submitted by: jrmbutterfly
Region: British Columbia, Canada
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: Aug 20, 2021
Observation date: Aug 07, 2021
Submitted by: jrmbutterfly
Region: British Columbia, Canada
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: Aug 20, 2021
Observation date: Aug 18, 2021
Submitted by: jrmbutterfly
Region: British Columbia, Canada
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: Aug 20, 2021
Observation date: Aug 18, 2021
Submitted by: jrmbutterfly
Region: British Columbia, Canada
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: Aug 20, 2021
Observation date: Aug 14, 2021
Submitted by: Debo Boddiford
Region: Georgia, Screven County, United States
Verified by: Mikelchap
Verified date: Aug 20, 2021
Observation date: Aug 15, 2021
Submitted by: Blue Swallowtail
Region: Cass County, Nebraska, United States
Verified by: Emily Geest
Verified date: Aug 19, 2021
Observation date: Aug 14, 2021
Submitted by: Ed Rothwell
Region: Newaygo County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Aug 19, 2021
- ‹ previous
- 25 of 298
- next ›