Gray Hairstreak - Alabama Butterfly Atlas

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Gray Hairstreaks so widespread and common that it is easy to become complacent about their striking beauty. The crisp clear gray of this butterfly sparkles!

Consummate habitat generalists, Gray Hairstreaks. require little more than plants and sunlight. They are members of the 'scrub-hairstreak" group, and like most scrub-hairstreaks, they bask with open wings. Gray Hairstreak caterpillars have adapted to eat from more than 30 plant families, although legumes and mallows are most frequently chosen. Larvae bore into buds and also eat flowers, often taking on the hue of the blossoms they eat. Green, yellow, white, pink, even purple caterpillars occur (see photos below).

Gray Hairstreaks range throughout the continental United States. They will eventually be documented in every county in Alabama. As common and widespread as these butterflies are, they are seldom seen in large numbers. Most field trip lists record one or two.

Distribution and Abundance

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: Autauga, Baldwin, Barbour, Bibb, Blount, Bullock, Butler, Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Chilton, Clay, Cleburne, Coffee, Colbert, Coosa, Covington, Crenshaw, Cullman, Dale, Dallas, DeKalb, Elmore, Escambia, Etowah, Fayette, Franklin, Geneva, Hale, Henry, Jackson, Jefferson, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Lee, Limestone, Lowndes, Macon, Madison, Marengo, Marion, Marshall, Mobile, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Perry, Pickens, Pike, Randolph, Shelby, St. Clair, Sumter, Talladega, Tallapoosa, Tuscaloosa, Walker, Washington, Wilcox, Winston

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

High count(s):

51 - Baldwin - 10/2/2023
46 - Baldwin - 9/14/2023
21 - Cleburne - 8/27/2020

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		1	1			3	1	2	2	6	6	2	2		14	9	52	14	41	17	27	31	39	61	68	35	70	58	57	102	101	85	133	98	110	94	42	8	3	3	1	1				1	5

Habitat

Open, disturbed sites including roadsides, fields, pastures, gardens, agricultural land, utility right-of-ways. parks, prairies, savannas, sandhills, flatwoods, and more.

Gray Hairstreak (*Strymon melinus*)

County

© Paulette Haywood Ogard

Pasture with Hogwort/Wooly Croton

Host and Nectar Plants

Food plants represent more than 30 plant families, but those in the Pea family (Fabaceae) and Mallow family (Malvacaea) are most common.

The following have been documented as hosts in Alabama:

Gerbera Daisy (Gerbera jamesonii)

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

Landscaping Ideas

Gray Hairstreaks are among the butterflies that benefit from including Partridge Pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata) in the landscape.

They nectar from a variety of small flowers including milkweeds (Asclepias spp.), mountain mints (Pycnanthem spp.) and goldenrods (Solidago spp.), all wonderful landscape plants that benefit many butterfly species.

Gray Hairstreak (Strymon melinus) 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.