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Great Purple Hairstreak (female)
Atlides halesus corcorani
29.7252, -99.0742
Field Notes
Description:
2 subspecies recognized: halesus (Cramer, 1777), and corcorani Clench, 1942 (Pelham, 2008).
http://butterfliesofamerica.com/atlides_halesus_corcorani.htm
AKA - Great Blue Hairstreak. 37-50 mm Wingspan. Iridescent bluish green to purple on the thorax and basal half of the wings. Ventrally all of the wings have a crimson spot near the base; ventral forewing otherwise plain brown (female) or brown with patch of blue (male); ventral hind wing with three rows of greenish spots near the apex. Males have a large scent patch on the upper side of the front wing.
Habitat:
Range - ssp. halesus (Cramer, 1777): Mostly Southeastern U.S.A. to New England
- ssp. corcorani Clench, 1942: SW Oregon, California, and southwestern U.S. into Mexico.
Larvae feed on mistletoe, live oak, western sycamore, and desert ironwood.
Notes:
It was on my Carolina Cherry Laurel. It preferred at the very top of the tree which stands about 7 feet tall right now. On another note, we do have Mistletoe on trees along our fence line.
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