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:
Cech, R. 1993. A Distributional Checklist of the Butterflies and Skippers of the New York City Area (50-mile Radius) and Long Island. New York City Butterfly Club Special Publication. 27 pp. Forbes, W.T.M. 1960. Lepidoptera of New York and Neighboring States. Part IV: Agaristidae through Nymphalidae Including Butterflies. Cornell Univ. Agricultural Experimental Station, Ithaca, N.Y. Memoir 371. 188 pp. Glassberg, J. 1993. Butterflies Through Binoculars: A Field Guide to Butterflies in the Boston-New York-Washington Region. Oxford Univ. Press, New York, N.Y. 160 pp. Klass, C. and Dirig, R. 1992. Learning about Butterflies. Cornell Cooperative Extension Publication, 4-H Member/Leader Guide 139-M-9. Ithaca, N.Y. 36 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. Shapiro, A.M. 1974. Butterflies and Skippers of New York State. Cornell Univ. Agricultural Experimental Station, Ithaca, N.Y. Search 4:1-60.