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Hickory Hairstreak (Satyrium caryaevorum [McDunnough])
Wing span: 1 1/8 - 1 3/8 inches (2.9 - 3.5 cm).
Identification: Hindwing with 1 tail. Underside light brown with broad, offset, white postmedian dashes. Hindwing with blue tail-spot and black-capped orange eyespot.
Life history: Males perch high up in trees to wait for females. Eggs hibernate; caterpillars feed on lower surface of leaves.
Flight: One flight from June-August.
Caterpillar hosts: Mostly hickory (Carya); also ash (Fraxinus), chestnut (Castanea), and oak (Quercus) species.
Adult food: Nectar from flowers of common milkweed, dogbane, New Jersey tea, staghorn sumac, and white sweet clover.
Habitat: Deciduous forests and second-growth woods in areas of rich soil.
Range: Southern New England west to Minnesota and Iowa, south in the Appalachians to eastern Tennessee.
Conservation: Not usually required, but on sensitive species list for some states.
The Nature Conservancy Global Rank: G4 - Apparently secure globally, though it might be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
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:
Heitzman, J.R. and Heitzman, J.E. 1987. Butterflies and Moths of Missouri.
Missouri Dept. of Conservation. Jefferson City, MO. 385 pp.
Layberry, R.A., Hall, P.W. & Lafontaine, D.J., 1998. The Butterflies of
Canada. University of Toronto Press, Toronto, ON. 280 pp.
Opler, P.A. 1998. A field guide to eastern butterflies, revised format.
Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.
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