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Genus Strymon

Hairstreak - Strymon melinus - male Gray Hairstreak Butterfly on salvia and society garlic - Strymon melinus Gray Hairstreak 694A 5943 - Strymon melinus Gray Hairstreak - Strymon melinus Gray Hairstreak - Strymon melinus Hairstreak, Strymon melinus? - Strymon melinus Strymon melinus Gray Hairstreak Butterfly - Strymon melinus - female
Show images of: caterpillars · adults · both
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
Superfamily Papilionoidea (Butterflies and Skippers)
Family Lycaenidae (Blues, Coppers, Hairstreaks, Harvesters)
Subfamily Theclinae (Hairstreaks)
Tribe Eumaeini
Genus Strymon
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
First published in 1818 by Jacob Hübner.
Explanation of Names
Strymon (στρυμων) was the ancient Greek name for the Struma River in Bulgaria and Greece.
This apparently has nothing do with the American butterfly Jacob Hübner was describing- at that time randomly-chosen names from Greek or Latin literature were often used for species with no connection to ancient times.
Numbers
Nearctica.com lists about 14 species.
Scott, pp. 382-384, lists 13 species. (1)
Remarks
Tribe Theclini.
Print References
Robbins, R.K. & S.S. Nicolay. 2002. An overview of Strymon Hübner (Lycaenidae:Theclinae: Eumaeini). Journal of the Lepidopterists’ Society 55(3): 85–100. Full PDF
Internet References
Zuträge zur Sammlung exotischer Schmettlinge, p.22    Hübner's original description of Strymon melinus, which also serves as the original publication of the genus (in German, with Fraktur letters).
Works Cited
1.The Butterflies of North America: A Natural History and Field Guide
James A. Scott. 1992. Stanford University Press.