This beautiful butterfly is found in the southern part of the United States and extends from Guatemala to northern California and then on through part of the Midwest to New York. There are many sightings of the Great Purple Hairstreak in Texas.
The Great Purple Hairstreak has a wingspan of 3.2 to 5.1 cm. The hind wing has one long and one short thin black tail, called hairstreaks. The upper part of the wing is iridescent blue with black borders. The underside of the wing is brown with yellow and white spots on the edges of the hind wing right at the base of the tails. There are also three basal, bright red spots on the underside of the wings. The abdomen is usually very bright blue on top and red and orange on the bottom.
These butterflies have three generations from March to December in much of the country, but in the south generations continue year round. In the afternoon the males sit perched on a treetop waiting for a female to arrive for mating. They move only their hind wings up and down. The spots on the tails of the butterfly resemble a head. This movement of the tail is to attract a predator's attention to that portion of the wing so the butterfly can quickly escape.
The larvae feed on mistletoe that grows on several tree species like oak, walnuts in suburban or agricultural areas, and other mixed woods. Once the larvae are full-grown they migrate to and pupate in crevices at the bottom of trees or under the bark. Every now and then the pupae are parasitized by parasitoid wasp larvae or by tachinid fly larvae, and adult wasps or flies emerge instead of a butterfly.
The adult feeds on plants with nectar such as shepherd's needle, sweet pepperbush and wild plum to name a few.
Jennifer Pope, Jessica Mitchell, Kristen Hill
ENT 301 Fall 2001
