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King's Hairstreak (Satyrium kingi [Klots & Clench])
Wing span: 1 1/8 - 1 1/2 inches (3 - 3.8 cm).
Identification: Hindwing with 1 long and 1 short tail. Underside light brown; hindwing margin indented above second tail; tail-spot blue with an orange cap.
Life history: Eggs are laid singly on host twigs and hatch the next spring. Caterpillars feed on leaf buds and leaves.
Flight: One flight from May-June.
Caterpillar hosts: Common sweetleaf (Symplocos tinctoria), the only North American native of the sweetleaf family (Symplocaceae).
Adult food: Allegheny chinquapin and sourwood are the only reported nectar sources.
Habitat: Hardwood hammocks, wooded streams, swamp edges.
Range: Maryland south along the Atlantic coastal plain and Gulf states, west to eastern Texas.
Conservation: Listed as a species of special concern in several states. Populations and their habitats should be conserved where found.
The Nature Conservancy Global Rank: G3 - Very rare or local throughout its range or found locally in a restricted range (21 to 100 occurrences). (Threatened throughout its range).
Management needs: None reported.
References:
Opler, P. A. and G. O. Krizek. 1984. Butterflies east of the Great Plains. Johns
Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. 294 pages, 54 color plates.
Opler, P. A. and V. Malikul. 1992. A field guide to eastern butterflies. Peterson
field guide #4. Houghton-Mifflin Co., Boston. 396 pages, 48 color plates.
Scott, J. A. 1986. The butterflies of North America. Stanford University Press,
Stanford, Calif. 583 pages, 64 color plates.
Author: Jane M. Struttmann
State and Regional References:
Harris, L., Jr. 1972 Butterflies of Georgia. Univ. of Oklahoma Press, Norman,
OK. 326 pp.
Opler, P.A. 1998. A field guide to eastern butterflies, revised format.
Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.
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