Welcome to Catnapin's

Insect Gallery

Gossamer-wing Butterflies - Hairstreak

order Lepidoptera - family Lycaenidae - subfamily Theclinae

1) Laying eggs on Longleaf Wild Buckwheat.  2) About to eat Lantana.  3) Cold day.

Gray Hairstreak (Cotton Square Borer) Strymon melinus

Photo taken in Taylor County, April 2005

Photo taken in Coleman County, July 2004, October 2005

(Taylor, Nolan, Fisher, Jones, Shackelford, Eastland, Coke, Runnels, Coleman, Brown)

Butterfly: 7/8"-1 3/8" wide.  Most common Hairstreak in USA.

Caterpillar: Velvety reddish-brown or light green.  Eats developing flowers and fruit, cotton, hops, beans.

Pupa: Chrysalides hibernate.

Eating Catclaw Mimosa.

Great Purple Hairstreak  Atlides halesus

Photo taken in Taylor County, May 2005

(Shackelford, Coleman, Brown)

Butterfly: 1 1/4"-2" wide.  Eats nectar from goldenrod, Prickly Ash, wild plum.

Caterpillar: Eats Mistletoe.

Pupa: Chrysalis dark blue black, hibernate in crevices at base of host trees.

***photo coming soon***

Juniper Hairstreak Callophrys [Mitoura] gryneus

1 - 1 1/4 inches.  Widespread and variable. Western and eastern populations were once considered separate species but have been found to hybridize. Western: Upperside of male dull red-brown, female tawny; both with dark brown costa and wing borders. Underside of forewing rust-red; hindwing dull to bright green with irregular white line edged inwardly with red-brown. Eastern: Upperside of male dark brown with olive-colored sheen, female blackish brown. Underside green; forewing with tawny base, hindwing with 2 white spots near base and irregular white line edged inwardly with red-brown.

(Taylor)

Other Hairstreaks in my area

Soapberry Hairstreak Phaeostrymon alcestis

1 - 1 1/2 inches.  Upperside plain deep brown. Underside of both wings have cells with narrow white bars outlined in black. Postmedian band white, bold, and jagged.

(Taylor, Coleman, Brown)

Banded Hairstreak Satyrium calanus

1 - 1 1/2 inches.  Hindwing has 1 long and 1 short tail. Upperside of both sexes dark brown. Underside of hindwing dark brown with postmedian band of dark dashes edged in white. Blue tail-spot not topped with orange.

(Coleman)

Southern Hairstreak Fixsenia favonius

7/8 - 1 1/2 inches.  Two tails on each hindwing. Underside of hindwing gray-brown; blue tail-spot capped narrowly with orange; white-edged black W near inner margin. In peninsular Florida and along the south Atlantic coast, the hindwing has longer tails and more extensive orange and blue markings on the underside.

(Coleman, Brown)

Dusky-blue Groundstreak Calycopis isobeon

7/8 - 1 1/4 inches.  Two tails on the hindwing. Underside of both wings gray-brown; inner edge of postmedian line bordered narrowly with red-orange. Underside of hindwing has eyespot at lower apex with equal amounts of orange and black.

(Coleman)

Henry's Elfin Callophrys [Incisalia] henrici

1 - 1 1/4 inches.  Tailed. Upperside dark brown; male without oval spot at forewing front edge. Often a dull orange tinge at outer margin of forewing and near tail of hindwing. Underside forewing with fairly straight postmedian line; hindwing with some white in the postmedian line.

(Brown)

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