Butterfly: Wingspan: 1 -1¼ inch (2.2 - 3.2 cm) UPPER SURFACE (dorsal) Male: gray brown with smudgy stigma near forewing edge. Female: gray brown with extensive blue scaling at lower half of hindwing. Both with small dark spots along hindwing lower edge; two dark hindwing spots near body. Abdomen dark gray, tipped with orange (male); dark gray or blue with no orange tip (female). Short, white-tipped tail.
ID Tip: Look for two dark spots near base of hindwing on a gray-brown hairstreak with single tails.
Egg: Whitish; disc shaped. Laid singly on or near host plant.
Caterpillar: Color variable: may be green; red; cream, or green and red. Some individuals have faint, dark markings. Slug-shaped with short hairs. Head brown.
Chrysalis: Varying shades of light/medium brown. Pellet shaped.
Mallow Scrub-Hairstreaks have multiple broods throughout their range. One subspecies, Strymon istapa modesta, occurs in south Florida. These hairstreaks are strongly marked. A western subspecies, S. istapa istapa, occurs in south Texas, often spreading into other parts of the Southwest and to southern California. Individuals of this subspecies are plainer, with faint markings. The Mallow Scrub-Hairstreak documented in Alabama by Steve Krotzer was thought to be the western subspecies, possibly brought in by a hurricane.
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: Perry
High count(s):
View county names by moving the mouse over a county or view a map with county names
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Open areas, both natural and disturbed, including weedy fields and roadsides.
Various members of the Mallow family (Malvaceae spp.) are documented in other parts of the country. Bay Cedar (Suriana maritima), a member of the Suriana family, is also a host for the Florida subspecies.
No host plant has been documented in Alabama.
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.