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Species Oenomaus ortygnus - Aquamarine Hairstreak - Hodges#4294

Aquamarine Hairstreak - Oenomaus ortygnus

Aquamarine Hairstreak - 6th (or so) US record - Oenomaus ortygnus

Aquamarine Hairstreak - Oenomaus ortygnus - Oenomaus ortygnus

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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 Oenomaus

Species ortygnus (Aquamarine Hairstreak - Hodges#4294)

Hodges Number

4294

Explanation of Names

Oenomaus ortygnus (Cramer, 1779)

Identification

Upperside iridescent greenish-blue with black borders in males; pale blue in females. Underside gray with an aquamarine band along the trailing edge of the hindwing. Hindwing has 3 or 4 black spots.

Range

Very rare vagrant in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of southernmost Texas; normally found from Tamaulipas, Mexico south to Brazil - Map

Habitat

low-elevation forests

Season

Oct-Dec in TX, flies almost all year in Mexico

Food

Adults are nectar feeders; US records have mostly been on Eupatorium betonicifolium. Caterpillars found on plants in the genus Annona; no known host plants or documented reproduction in the US.

Remarks

First US records: Two individuals were seen and one collected in Brownsville in December 1962. (Clench 1964)

Print References

Clench, H.K. 1964. A new hairstreak for the United States. Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 18(3): 189-190. (Full PDF)

Internet References

Butterflies of America - BOA

Moth Photographers Group - MPG

NABA-South Texas

Contributed by Joshua Stuart Rose on 27 May, 2006 - 1:56pm
Additional contributions by Steve Nanz, Mike Quinn
Last updated 2 March, 2019 - 9:20am

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