North American Butterflies and Moths List

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Butterflies of North America

Butterflies of Texas

Clytie Ministreak (Ministrymon clytie)
JPG -- species photo

Clytie Ministreak (Ministrymon clytie [W. H. Edwards])

Wing span: 3/4 - 7/8 inch (1.9 - 2.2 cm).

Identification: Tailed. Upperside silver-blue; underside pale gray. Forewing with orange median dash; hindwing has 2 lines of orange dashes.

Life history: Not reported.

Flight: February-December in South Texas.

Caterpillar hosts: Blackbeads (Pithecellobium species) in the pea family (Fabaceae).

Adult food: Flower nectar including blackbead.

Habitat: Tropical forest openings, subtropical thorn forests.

Range: Northwest Costa Rica north through Mexico to South Texas. Strays into southern Arizona.

Conservation: Populations in the Lower Rio Grande Valley need to be conserved.

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: Protect habitat with Pithecellobium species.

References:

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:

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.
     
Clytie Ministreak (Ministrymon clytie)
distribution map
map legend

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