Overview
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Vulnerable |
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Interesting Facts
Common Names
Common Names in English:
Avalon Hairstreak, Avalon Scrub-Hairstreak
Description
Family Lycaenidae
'The Lycaenidae are members
of the Superfamily
Papilionoidea, the true butterflies. Worldwide in distribution, this family
has approximately 4,700 species that are unevenly distributed. Coppers are especially dominant in north temperate regions
, blues are richest
in the Old World tropics and north temperate
zones, and hairstreaks are particularly abundant in New World tropics. The adults
are typically small to tiny and often brilliantly colored--iridescent blues, bright reds, and oranges. Adults of both sexes have three pairs of walking legs
, though most males have fused segments in their front legs. Most adults visit flowers for nectar, but some harvesters feed
on wooly aphid honeydew and some hairstreaks feed on aphid honeydew or bird droppings. Females lay
single, sea
urchin shaped eggs
on host leaves or flower buds; the resulting caterpillars are typically slug-shaped. In many species, caterpillars depend on ants
for protection, so caterpillars produce
sugary secretions that are collected by the ants. Most species overwinter in either the egg or pupal stage.
'[1]
Subfamily Theclinae
Hairstreaks are members of the Family Lycaenidae. Richest in tropical habitats , hairstreaks are numerous in the Americas and comprise about 1,000 species. In tropical species, the upperside of small to medium-sized adults is often iridescent blue, due to reflected light from the wing scales . However, most of the North American species are brown above. Migration is rare, but a few species (such as the Gray Hairstreak) are good long-distance colonists . Males perch to await mates, and females lay eggs singly. Caterpillars usually feed on leaves or reproductive structures of woody trees or shrubs . Interestingly, the chrysalids of several species can produce sounds between their abdominal segments, likely related to their interactions with ants . Hairstreaks typically overwinter in the egg or pupal stage.[2]
Physical Description
Species Strymon avalona
One short tail on the hindwing . Upperside gray; hindwing with red or yellow spot near tail; may have small white spots at margin . Underside ashy gray, slightly darker on inner half of wing . Submarginal and postmedian lines faint or lacking. (ref. 105711)
Color:
One short tail on the hindwing . Upperside gray; hindwing with red or yellow spot near tail; may have small white spots at margin . Underside ashy gray, slightly darker on inner half of wing . Submarginal and postmedian lines faint or lacking.
Size/Age/Growth
Wing span : 3/4 - 1 inch (1.9 - 2.5 cm).
Habitat
Chaparral and grassy areas.
Biome: Terrestrial [3].
Biology
Diet
Caterpillar hosts: Silverleaf lotus (Lotus argophyllus var. ornithopus) and deerbrush (Lotus scoparius). Adult food: Nectar from flowers including common sumac (Rhus laurina) and giant buckwheat (Eriogonum giganteum).
Reproduction
Eggs are laid on terminal buds and on flower buds.
Behavior
Flight: Many broods from February-December.
Taxonomy
- Domain:
Eukaryota
(
)
- Whittaker & Margulis,1978
- eukaryotes
- Kingdom:
Animalia
()
- C. Linnaeus, 1758
- animals
- Subkingdom:
Bilateria
()
- (Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983
- Branch:
Protostomia
()
- Grobben, 1908
- Infrakingdom:
Ecdysozoa
()
- A.M.A. Aguinaldo et al., 1997 ex T. Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Superphylum:
Panarthropoda
()
- Cuvier
- Phylum:
Arthropoda
()
- Latreille, 1829
- Arthropods
- Subphylum:
Mandibulata
()
- Snodgrass, 1938
- Infraphylum:
Atelocerata
()
- Heymons, 1901
- Superclass:
Panhexapoda
()
- Epiclass:
Hexapoda
()
- Class:
Insecta
()
- C. Linnaeus, 1758
- Insects
- Subclass:
Dicondylia
()
- Infraclass:
Pterygota
()
- Cohort:
Myoglossata
()
- Superorder:
Panorpida
()
- Order:
Lepidoptera
()
- C. Linnaeus, 1758
- Butterflies and Moths
- Infraorder:
Heteroneura
()
- Family:
Lycaenidae
()
- Gossamer Winged Butterflies
- Family:
Lycaenidae
(
- Infraorder:
Heteroneura
(
- Order:
Lepidoptera
(
- Superorder:
Panorpida
(
- Cohort:
Myoglossata
(
- Infraclass:
Pterygota
(
- Subclass:
Dicondylia
(
- Class:
Insecta
(
- Epiclass:
Hexapoda
(
- Superclass:
Panhexapoda
(
- Infraphylum:
Atelocerata
(
- Subphylum:
Mandibulata
(
- Phylum:
Arthropoda
(
- Superphylum:
Panarthropoda
(
- Infrakingdom:
Ecdysozoa
(
- Branch:
Protostomia
(
- Subkingdom:
Bilateria
(
- Kingdom:
Animalia
(
Similar Species
Members of the genus Strymon
ZipcodeZoo has pages for 24 species and subspecies in this genus:
S. acis (Bartram's Scrub-Hairstreak) · S. acis bartrami (Bartram's Hairstreak) · S. albata (White Scrub-Hairstreak) · S. alea (Lacey's Scrub-Hairstreak) · S. astiocha (Astiocha Scrub-Hairstreak) · S. avalona (Avalon Scrub-Hairstreak) · S. basalides (Basalides Scrub-Hairstreak) · S. bazochii (Lantana Scrub-Hairstreak) · S. bazochii gundlachianus (Smaller Lantana Butterfly) · S. bebrycia (Red-Lined Scrub-Hairstreak) · S. cestri (Tailless Scrub-Hairstreak) · S. columella (Mallow Scrub Hairstreak) · S. echion (Larger Lantana Butterfly) · S. istapa (Mallow Scrub Hairstreak) · S. limenia (Disguised Scrub-Hairstreak) · S. martialis (Martial Scrub-Hairstreak) · S. megarus (Megarus Scrub-Hairstreak) · S. melinus (Common Hairstreak) · S. melinus melinus (Cotton Square Borer) · S. mulucha (Mottled Scrub-Hairstreak) · S. rufofusca (Red-Crescent Scrub-Hairstreak) · S. serapio (Bromeliad Scrub-Hairstreak) · S. yojoa (Yojoa Scrub-Hairstreak) · S. ziba (Red-Spotted Scrub-Hairstreak)
More Info
- Search for Pictures: images.google.com
- Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
- Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
- Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books
Further Reading
- 1994 IUCN red list of threatened animals Gland, Switzerland: IUCN, 1993 url p. 182.
- Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences. Los Angeles, Calif.: The Academy, 1902-1971. url , p. 107, p. 109, p. 179, p. 75.
- Catalogue of the family-group, genus-group and species-group names of the Riodinidae & Lycaenidae (Lepidoptera) of the world / Charles A. Bridges. Urbana, Ill.: C.A. Bridges, c1994. url p. 42.
- Occasional papers of the California Academy of Sciences. San Francisco: California Academy of Sciences, url p. 32.
- The IUCN Invertebrate Red Data Book IUCN url p. 45, p. 459, p. 460, p. 630.
- The Lepidopterists' news: the monthly newsletter of the Lepidopterists' Society. Cambridge, Mass.: Lepidopterists' Society, 1947-1958. url p. 84.
Notes
Contributors
- Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 10, 2012.
- Gimenez Dixon, M. 1996. In IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCNRedList.org. Downloaded July 18, 2008.
- Gimenez Dixon, M. 1996. Strymon avalona. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloadedon 05February2012.
- IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. . Downloaded on January 28, 2012.
- Opler, Paul A., Harry Pavulaan, Ray E. Stanford, Michael Pogue, coordinators. Butterflies and Moths of North America. Bozeman, MT: Mountain Prairie Information Node. March 26, 2007.
- Opler, Paul A., Kelly Lotts, and Thomas Naberhaus, coordinators. 2009. Butterflies and Moths of North America. Bozeman, MT: Big Sky Institute. http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/ (Version of April 17, 2009).
Identifiers
- Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2602733
- IUCN ID: 244135
- Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: IILEPF2020
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 171424
Footnotes
- http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/taxonomy?f=16&sci=Lycaenidae&com=Gossamer-wing Butterflies [back]
- http://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=Euristrymon&search=Search [back]
- Gimenez Dixon, M. 1996. Strymon avalona. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 05 February 2012. [back]
