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Striped Hairstreak - Satyrium liparops
Native Species
Global Rank:
G5
State Rank:
S5
Agency Status
USFWS:
USFS:
BLM:
External Links
General Description
[From Ferris and Brown 1981; Scott 1986; Opler and Wright 1999; Glassberg 2001] Forewing 1.4-1.5 cm. Two pairs of tails. Uppersurface brown, sometimes with orange patches. Undersurface with post-median rows of widely separated thin white lines edged in black forming a series of stripes, hindwing with blue tailspot capped by red-orange, outer edge of wing indented above second short tail.
Phenology
One flight; mid-May to June in the south, July to early August in the north and at higher elevations (Scott 1986). Mid-June to early August (Glassberg 2001). Late June to early August in Colorado (Scott and Scott 1978; Scott and Epstein 1987), late June to late July in British Columbia (Guppy and Shepard 2001).
Diagnostic Characteristics
Best determined by presence of a pair of tails, overall brown base color, undersurface with post-median rows of thin white lines forming stripes, hindwing blue tailspot capped with orange.
Species Range
Montana Range
Range Descriptions
Native
Range Comments
Extreme east-central British Columbia (Peace River canyon) east across southern Canada to Nova Scotia and Maine, south to southern Colorado, northeastern new Mexico, northern Kansas, east Texas, and central Florida (Scott 1986; Opler and Wright 1999; Glassberg 2001; Guppy and Shepard 2001); 1829 m to 2440 m elevation in the Rocky Mountain states (Ferris and Brown 1981), 1829 m to 2612 m elevation in Colorado (Brown 1957; Scott and Scott 1978). In Montana, reported from many counties east of the continental divide and the main Rocky Mountain chain (Kohler 1980; Stanford and Opler 1993; FLMNH Lepidopterists' Society database). Rare to locally uncommon in the western US (Glassberg 2001).
Migration
Non-migratory.
Habitat
Brushy areas, thickets, prairies, streamsides, open deciduous woodlands, foothills, deciduous windbreaks (Ferris and Brown 1981; Scott 1986; Opler and Wright 1999; Glassberg 2001). Habitat in Montana not described but probably similar.
Food Habits
Larval food plants include Amelanchier, Betula, Carpinus, Carya, Castanea, Crataegus, Fraxinus, Malus, Populus, Prunus (multiple species), Pyrus, Quercus, Rhododendron, Rubus, Salix, Sorbus, and Vaccinium (Scott and Scott 1978; Ferris and Brown 1981; Scott 1986, 1992). Adults feed on flower nectar (including Apocynum, Asclepias, Ceanothus, Cirsium, Clematus, Euphoria, Melilotus, Monarda, Solidago, Symphoricarpos) and honeydew (Scott 2014; Wagner and Gagliardi 2015).
Reproductive Characteristics
Females lay eggs singly on host plant buds and twigs (in small bark crevices). Eggs hibernate (overwinter). Larvae eat fruits, flowers, leaves, build no nests (Scott 1979, 1986; Scott and Epstein 1987); adults emerge from pupae in about 14 days (Guppy and Shepard 2001). Males perch on bushes, tree limbs about 1-2 m tall, sometimes on side of small tree, in gullies and hilltops (Scott 1975b, 1986).
Stewardship Responsibility
References
- Literature Cited AboveLegend:
View Online Publication
Brown, F.M. 1957. Colorado Butterflies. Proceedings; Numbers Three through Seven. Denver Museum of Natural History, Denver, Co.- Ferris, C.D. and F.M. Brown (eds). 1981. Butterflies of the Rocky Mountains. Univ. of Oklahoma Press. Norman. 442 pp.
- Glassberg, J. 2001. Butterflies through Binoculars: A Field Guide to the Butterflies of Western North America. Oxford University Press.
- Guppy, C.S. and J.H. Shepard. 2001. Butterflies of British Columbia: including western Alberta, southern Yukon, the Alaska Panhandle, Washington, northern Oregon, northern Idaho, northwestern Montana. UBC Press (Vancouver, BC) and Royal British Columbia Museum (Victoria, BC). 414 pp.
- Kohler, S. 1980. Checklist of Montana Butterflies (Rhopalocera). Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 34(1): 1-19.
- Opler, P.A. and A.B. Wright. 1999. A field guide to western butterflies. Second edition. Peterson Field Guides. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. 540 pp.
- Scott, J.A. 1975b. Mate-locating behavior of western North American butterflies. Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera 14:1-40.
- Scott, J.A. 1979. Hibernal diapause of North American Papilionoidea and Hesperioidea. Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera 18(3): 171-200.
- Scott, J.A. 1986. The butterflies of North America: a natural history and field guide. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California.
- Scott, J.A. 1992. Hostplant records for butterflies and skippers (mostly from Colorado) 1959-1992, with new life histories and notes on oviposition, immatures, and ecology. Papilio new series #6. 185 p.
- Scott, J.A. 2014. Lepidoptera of North America 13. Flower visitation by Colorado butterflies (40,615 records) with a review of the literature on pollination of Colorado plants and butterfly attraction (Lepidoptera: Hersperioidea and Papilionoidea). Contributions of the C.P. Gillette Museum of Arthopod Diversity. Fort Collins, CO: Colorado State University. 190 p.
- Scott, J.A. and G.R. Scott. 1978. Ecology and distribution of the butterflies of southern central Colorado. Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera 17(2): 73-128.
- Scott, J.A. and M.E. Epstein. 1987. Factors affecting phenology in a temperate insect community. American Midland Naturalist 117(1): 103-118.
- Stanford, R.E. and P.A. Opler. 1993. Atlas of western USA butterflies: including adjacent parts of Canada and Mexico. Unpubl. Report. Denver and Fort Collins, Colorado 275 pp.
- Wagner, D.L. and B.L. Gagliardi. 2015. Hairstreaks (and other insects) feeding at galls, honeydew, extrafloral nectaries, sugar bait, cars, and other routine substances. American Entomologist 61(3): 160-167.
- Additional ReferencesLegend: View Online Publication
Do you know of a citation we're missing?- Allen, T.J., J.P. Brock, and J. Glassberg. 2005. Caterpillars in the field and garden: a field guide to the butterfly caterpillars of North America. Oxford University Press.
- Brock, J.P. and K. Kaufman. 2003. Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, New York, NY 284 pp.
- Forister, M.L., C.A. Halsch, C.C. Nice, J.A. Fordyce, T.E. Dilts, J.C. Oliver, K.L. Prudic, A.M. Shapiro, J.K. Wilson, J. Glassberg. 2021. Fewer butterflies seen by community scientists across the warming and drying landscapes of the American West. Science 371:1042-1045.
- Forister, M.L., E.M. Grames, C.A. Halsch, K.J. Burls, C.F. Carroll, K.L. Bell, J.P. Jahner, et al. 2023. Assessing risk for butterflies in the context of climate change, demographic uncertainty, and heterogeneous data sources. Ecological Monographs 93(3):e1584. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecm.1584
- Layberry, R.A., P.W. Hall, and J.D. LaFontaine. 1998. The Butterflies of Canada. University of Toronto Press. 280 pp. + color plates.
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