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Early Hairstreak (Erora laeta [W. H. Edwards])
Wing span: 7/8 - 15/16 inch (2.2 - 2.4 cm).
Identification: No tails. Upperside blue and black; female has more blue than male. Underside turquoise blue; hindwing with 2 irregular bands of small orange spots.
Life history: Males perch in treetops to watch for females. Eggs are laid singly on the underside of host plant leaves; caterpillars feed on leaves and fruits.
Flight: Two broods in the north and three in the south, from April-September.
Caterpillar hosts: Beech (Fagus grandifolia) and beaked hazel (Corylus cornuta).
Adult food: Nectar from flowers of fleabane, ox-eyed daisy, and hardtack.
Habitat: Deciduous and mixed woods, especially on open ridgetops and along dirt roads.
Range: Rare and local in its range. Maritime Provinces west to northern Michigan and northern Wisconsin; south through the Appalachians to Tennessee and North Carolina.
Conservation: All confirmed populations should be conserved.
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: Protect habitats and nectar sources.
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:
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.
Clark, A.H. and Clark, L.F. 1951. The Butterflies of Virginia. Smithsonian
Miscellaneous collection No. 116:1-239.
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.
Woodbury, E.N. 1994. Butterflies of Delmarva. Delaware Nature Society, Inc.,
Tidewater Publishers, Centreville, MD. 138 pp. [NOTE: this book only
treats True Butterflies (Papilionoidea). It does not treat Skippers
(Hesperioidea).]
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