Explanation of Names
Satyrium caryaevorus (McDunnough, 1942)
Identification
Adult: underside of hindwing grayish-brown with dark postmedian band of rectangular spots edged in white on both sides; spots in this band become progressively wider toward the top, so that the offset top spot is as wide as the partial second band, situated closer to the base of the wing; blue patch below tail extends inward much further than adjacent orange patch; black spot above tail has orange patch capping it that is smaller than the black spot (see See Also section below for ways to distinguish this species from the similar Banded Hairstreak)
adults of
Banded Hairstreak (
Satyrium calanus) differ in the following ways:
1. underside of hindwing has postmedian band of spots edged mainly on the outside in white
2. spots in this band are thinner and more similar in width, so that the offset top spot is narrower than the partial second band, situated closer to the base of the wing
3. blue patch below tail extends inward only slightly beyond adjacent orange patch
4. black spot above tail has orange patch capping it that is as large or larger than the black spot
Larva: body yellowish-green (turning brown shortly before pupating) with two white dorsal lines and oblique yellowish lateral marks
Range
southern Quebec and Ontario, and northeastern United States from Massachusetts to Minnesota and Nebraska, south to Kansas, North Carolina, and northern Georgia (see
US distribution map)
Habitat
deciduous forests and edges
Season
adults fly from June to August
Food
larvae feed mainly on leaves of hickory (
Carya spp.); other hosts include Butternut (
Juglans cinerea), oak (
Quercus spp.), ash (
Fraxinus spp.), hawthorn (
Crataegus spp.) and
chestnut (
Castanea spp.)
adults take nectar from flowers of milkweed, dogbane, New Jersey Tea, Staghorn Sumac, and White Sweetclover - a variant of
Yellow Sweetclover (
Melilotus officinalis)
Life Cycle
one generation per year; overwinters as an egg
Remarks
Uncommon to rare except in an eruption year. Adults are thought to spend much of their time high up in trees. Rare in southern part of its range.
Internet References
adult images plus description of adult and larva, distribution, similar species, foodplants, abundance, flight season, habitat, remarks (Butterflies of Canada, CBIF)
adult images plus US distribution map, description, habits, flight season, foodplants, habitat, range (Butterflies and Moths of North America, BMNA)
adult images (Butterflies of North America, BOA)
