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 721 - 744 of 7151 verified sightings
Observation date: Jul 26, 2017
Submitted by: NCARI
Region: Dare County, North Carolina, United States
Verified by: Dennis Forsythe
Verified date: Dec 08, 2020
Observation date: Jul 31, 2017
Submitted by: NCARI
Region: Dare County, North Carolina, United States
Verified by: Dennis Forsythe
Verified date: Dec 08, 2020
Observation date: Jul 31, 2017
Submitted by: NCARI
Region: Dare County, North Carolina, United States
Verified by: Dennis Forsythe
Verified date: Dec 08, 2020
Observation date: Aug 01, 2017
Submitted by: NCARI
Region: Dare County, North Carolina, United States
Verified by: Dennis Forsythe
Verified date: Dec 08, 2020
Observation date: May 21, 2010
Submitted by: Atlas2000
Region: Harnett County, North Carolina, United States
Verified by: Dennis Forsythe
Verified date: Dec 07, 2020
Observation date: Jul 24, 2019
Submitted by: ADPanvini
Region: Henderson County, North Carolina, United States
Verified by: Dennis Forsythe
Verified date: Dec 06, 2020
Observation date: Jul 24, 2019
Submitted by: John LeBlanc
Region: McDowell County, North Carolina, United States
Verified by: Dennis Forsythe
Verified date: Dec 06, 2020
Observation date: Aug 19, 2019
Submitted by: Lonnie.Hoskins
Region: Johnston County, North Carolina, United States
Verified by: Dennis Forsythe
Verified date: Dec 05, 2020
Observation date: Jul 16, 2020
Submitted by: TioCeBoji
Region: Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States
Verified by: Dennis Forsythe
Verified date: Dec 05, 2020
Observation date: Sep 16, 2018
Submitted by: Prem
Region: Douglas County, Nebraska, United States
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: Dec 04, 2020
Observation date: Oct 07, 2019
Submitted by: Blue Swallowtail
Region: Adams County, Nebraska, United States
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: Dec 03, 2020
Observation date: Nov 29, 2020
Submitted by: mstanek
Region: Ventura County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Nov 30, 2020
Observation date: Sep 06, 2020
Submitted by: ButterBelle
Region: Putnam County, Tennessee, United States
Verified by: dbruce
Verified date: Nov 28, 2020
Observation date: Oct 17, 2020
Submitted by: Ed Rothwell
Region: Kiowa County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: mikefisher
Verified date: Nov 20, 2020
Observation date: May 15, 2020
Submitted by: stevecary
Region: Torrance County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Nov 02, 2020
Observation date: Oct 16, 2020
Submitted by: Jachan1
Region: Texas, Webb County, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Oct 19, 2020
Observation date: Oct 17, 2020
Submitted by: Michael Weisensee
Region: Charlotte County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Oct 18, 2020
Observation date: Oct 11, 2020
Submitted by: Jonathan Clark
Region: La Salle Parish, Louisiana, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Oct 17, 2020
Observation date: Oct 02, 2020
Submitted by: Cactuswren1976
Region: Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Oct 16, 2020
Observation date: Oct 09, 2020
Submitted by: DeepSkyKelly
Region: Colfax County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Oct 14, 2020
Observation date: Oct 12, 2020
Submitted by: Ed Rothwell
Region: Pima County, Arizona, United States
Verified by: John Saba
Verified date: Oct 13, 2020
Observation date: Oct 01, 2020
Submitted by: JulieLuetzelschwab
Region: Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Oct 13, 2020
Observation date: Sep 19, 2020
Submitted by: Ed Rothwell
Region: Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Oct 08, 2020
Observation date: Sep 26, 2020
Submitted by: Debo Boddiford
Region: Dorchester County, South Carolina, United States
Verified by: Dennis Forsythe
Verified date: Oct 05, 2020
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