Striped Hairstreak - Alabama Butterfly Atlas

Butterfly: Wingspan: 1 - 1½ inches (2.5 - 3.9 cm). Undersurfaces are gray/brown. There are two hindwing tails. Numerous bands are outlined in white, giving a striped appearance. Hindwing has an orange-capped blue patch and several red spots near the tails. Upper surface is seldom seen, but is uniformly dark brown. Males have a dull white scent patch (stigma) on the upper forewings.

ID Tip: Ventral wing bars give the illusion of stripes. Prominent orange cap on ventral hindwing spot.

Egg: Flat, purple or purplish-brown eggs are laid on the twigs and buds of host plants. They are the overwintering stage.

Caterpillar: Caterpillars are yellow green with pale dashes along the sides and a dark dorsal stripe on the abdomen. They feed on buds, flowers, young leaves, and developing fruits.

Chrysalis: May be brown, mottled with reddish brown or may be very dark brown. Covered with short, light hairs. Formed on living host leaves or in leaf litter at base of plant.

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Striped Hairstreaks belong to a genus of hairstreaks known as satyriums. Like all satyrium hairstreaks, they are basically brown butterflies that are decorated with a blue dot, a few red spots, and white dashes on their underwings. Satyrium hairstreaks can be difficult to identify, but the Striped's descriptively-named wings provide much appreciated field marks. They have only one brood (univoltine) and fly in late spring/early summer. While Stripeds often fly with other hairstreaks in their genus, they are also found in more densely wooded habitats. Look for them in thickets of Sparkleberry, which serves as both a host and nectar plant.

A dot on the county map indicates that there is at least one documented record of the species within that county. In some cases, a species may be common throughout the county, in others it may be found in only a specific habitat. The High Count information shows the highest numbers recorded for this species as well as when and where they occurred.

The sightings bar graphs depict the timing of flight(s) within each of three geographic regions. Place your cursor on a bar within the graph to see the number of individuals recorded during that period.

The abundance calendar displays the total number of individuals recorded within each week of the month. Both the graphs and the calendar are on based data collection that began in 2000.

The records analyzed here are only a beginning. As more data is collected, these maps and graphs will paint a more accurate picture of distribution and abundance in Alabama. Submit your sightings to albutterflyatlas@gmail.com.

Sightings in the following counties: Baldwin, Bibb, Calhoun, Cherokee, Cleburne, Colbert, Covington, Dale, DeKalb, Escambia, Etowah, Houston, Jackson, Jefferson, Marshall, Mobile, Shelby, St. Clair, Tuscaloosa, Washington, Winston

Sightings in the past 5 years
Sightings in the past 5 - 10 years
Sightings more than 10 years ago

High count(s):

22 - Shelby - 5/14/2020
19 - Shelby - 5/24/2021
11 - Shelby - 5/17/2015

View county names by moving the mouse over a county or view a map with county names

Jan				Feb				Mar				Apr				May				Jun				Jul				Aug				Sep				Oct				Nov				Dec
1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4	1	2	3	4
														1	5	14	32	33	32	7	2	4	1	2

Near edges of openings in hardwood forests.

Striped Hairstreak (*Satyrium liparops*)

County

© Sara Bright

Black Cherry

Members of the Heath and Rose familes, including Black Cherry (Prunus serotina), hawthorns (Crataegus spp.), and blueberries (Vaccineum spp.), have been reported.

These plant species have been verified in Alabama:

For more information about these plants, please visit the Alabama Plant Atlas using the links above.

Striped Hairstreak (Satyrium liparops) Photos

Click on individual photos to view a larger version that includes photo credits, county, and date.
Photos with comments are indicated by a small, tan dot on the bottom right.