Hickory Hairstreak (Satyrium caryaevorum [McDunnough])
Wing span: 1 1/8 - 1 3/8 inches (2.9 - 3.5 cm).
Identification: Hindwing with 1 tail. Underside light brown with broad, offset, white postmedian dashes. Hindwing with blue tail-spot and black-capped orange eyespot.
Life history: Males perch high up in trees to wait for females. Eggs hibernate; caterpillars feed on lower surface of leaves.
Flight: One flight from June-August.
Caterpillar hosts: Mostly hickory (Carya); also ash (Fraxinus), chestnut (Castanea), and oak (Quercus) species.
Adult food: Nectar from flowers of common milkweed, dogbane, New Jersey tea, staghorn sumac, and white sweet clover.
Habitat: Deciduous forests and second-growth woods in areas of rich soil.
Range: Southern New England west to Minnesota and Iowa, south in the Appalachians to eastern Tennessee.
