Satyrium edwardsii
Size:
Wingspan is 1 - 1 1/4 inches.
Similar Species:
Banded Hairstreak
Hickory Hairstreak
King's Hairstreak
Striped Hairstreak
Habitat:
Dry rocky places with scrub oaks. Also oak-pine shale barrens with short
oaks. In the sandhills in xeric areas with scrub oaks.
Range/Abundance:
Rare and very local in the mountains and sandhills. Very rare elsewhere
in the region.
Flight Period:
Adults fly from late May until early July in a single brood.
Larval Host Plants:
Scrub Oak Quercus ilicifolia, Turkey Oak Q. laevis,
Blackjack Oak, Q. marilandica.
Comments:
This hairstreak's spots can be quite variable. Look for the orange/red
crescent shaped marks in submarginal band.
This single-brooded hairstreak is hard to find, look for it nectaring
on New Jersey Tea Ceanothus americanus, Sourwood, Oxydendrum
arboreum, Dogbane Apocynum cannabinum and Butterflyweed
Asclepias tuberosa.
The best place to find Edwards' Hairstreak in our region is the Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve in Moore Co., NC.
The top photo was taken in Moore Co., NC on June 02, 2002. The second
photos including the rollover photo were taken in Moore Co., NC on June
04, 2000. The bottom photo was taken in Moore Co., NC on June 06, 2003.
