Howard County Bird Club
White M Hairstreak
Place name abbreviations: MPEA – Middle Patuxent Environment Area; PRSP – Patuxent River State Park; PVSP – Patapsco River Valley State Park.
Click on the common name to obtain additional information from the Butterflies and Moths of North America web page and the following common name for additional information from USGS web page. BugGuide is another web resource.
Legend:
| Common name [Link is to BAMONA] (wingspan range in inches) Common name [link is to USGS] |
Occurrence level & flight period. | |
| Habitat. | Typically visits (for nectaring). | Larval host plants. |
| White M Hairstreak (1.25–1.7″) White M Hairstreak |
Rare: L-Apr, Aug-Sep | Woods clearings & edges | Lance-leaved goldenrod | Oaks | |
August 26, 2017
Western Regional Park
Bill Hill
August 26, 2017
Western Regional Parl
Bill Hill
September 18, 2015
Martin Road, Columbia
Kevin Heffernan
September 2, 2021
Ellicott City
Kevin Heffernan
April 14, 2012
Wincopin Trail
Annette Allor
There is a wonderful story revealed in the three previous photos. For one thing, it shows some of the dorsal wing surface with the brilliant blue, which is never deliberately exposed in a perching individual, unless it can’t help it with such a wing tear. The tear was probably inflicted by an attacking bird, but a piece of the wing tore off, the butterfly escaped, and it went merrily about its business, such as nectaring here, later. Note finally that a prominent part of the tear is from the hindwing just above the red spot and threadlike tail filament that look to a predator much like an insect head and antenna. In this case, the masquerade apparently worked, and the butterfly’s real head and antenna went unscathed.
For the other photos, note that the White M Hairstreak has the red spot more set back away from the margin on the underside hindwing than the Gray Hairstreak. Dick Smith.
The phenograms show the maximum number of individual butterflies of this species seen in the first eight years of the Howard County Butterfly Survey. From these graphs, one can see the number of broods of each species, when they are active, and the relative abundance of the species in each brood. The observed early and late dates are shown below The graphs can be used to anticipate the first sighting of a given species in the year and can help with identification.
Early: 4/1/2016 Late: 10/15/2020