North American Butterflies and Moths List

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Butterflies of North America

Butterflies of Texas

Muted Hairstreak (Electrostrymon canus)

Muted Hairstreak (Electrostrymon canus [Druce])

Wing span: 15/16 - 1 3/16 inches (2.4 - 3.0 cm).

Identification: Two tails on the hindwing. Upperside of male orange-brown; underside tan with red postmedian line. Female not distinguishable in field from that of Ruddy Hairstreak.

Life history: Males perch on hilltop shrubs to seek receptive females.

Flight: April to January in tropical America (3 more flights).

Caterpillar hosts: In Venezuela, flowers of mango (Mangifera indica) and Psiguria racemosa.

Adult food: Flower nectar.

Habitat: Openings and edges in tropical semideciduous river forests, second growth.

Range: South Texas south through mainland tropical America to Peru.

Conservation: Any permanent U.S. populations should be protected.

The Nature Conservancy Global Rank: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.

Management needs: Locate populations and protect their habitat.

References:


Neck, R.W. 1996. A field guide to butterflies of Texas. Gulf Publishing Co., 

     Houston, Texas. 323 pp.



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: Paul A. Opler

State and Regional References:


Neck, R.W. 1996. A Field Guide to Butterflies of Texas. Gulf Publishing Co., 

     Houston, Texas.



Opler, Paul A. 1999. Peterson Field Guide to Western Butterflies, revised 

     edition. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Mass.



Stanford, R.E. and P.A. Opler. 1993. Atlas of Western USA Butterflies. 

     Privately published, Denver, Colo. 



Tilden, J.W. and A.C. Smith. 1986. A Field Guide to Western Butterflies. 

     Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Mass.

     

Tveten, J. and Tveten, G.  1996.  Butterflies of Houston & Southeast Texas.

     Univ. of Texas Press, Austin, TX.  292 pp.

     

Muted Hairstreak (Electrostrymon canus)
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