- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Where are the monarch butterflies? They're MIA on the four species of milkweed in our Vacaville pollinator garden
But milkweed attracts other insects, including honey bees, carpenter bees, bumble bees, assassin bugs, syrphid flies, leafcutter bees, Anthophora (genus) bees, wasps, praying mantids, and butterflies, including Gulf Fritillaries, Agraulis vanillae, and gray hairstreaks, Strymon melinus. And yes, arthropods such as crab spiders and orbweavers visit, too.
On Sept. 19, we witnessed a gray hairstreak laying eggs on the buds of a tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica, which we planted in a container with another milkweed, butterflyweed, A. tuberosa. (Yes, we give the monarchs a choice; we also offer them showy milkweed, A. speciosa, and narrowleaf milkweed, A. fascicularis, and we cut back the A. curassavica before the fall migration, as noted entomologists recommend.)
Butterfly guru Art Shapiro, UC Davis distinguished professor of evolution and ecology, says this about the gray hairstreak on his website, Art Shapiro's Butterfly Site:
"This is one of the most polyphagous butterflies known, recorded on host plants in many families. Its most frequent hosts in our area are mallows, including the weedy species of Malva; legumes, including Spanish Lotus (Lotus purshianus), Bird's-Foot Trefoil (Lotus corniculatus), White Clover (Trifolium repens) in lawns, Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) and many others;and Turkey Mullein (Eremocarpus or Croton setigerus, Euphorbiaceae)."
So, we mentioned the gray hairstreak laying eggs on the buds of the milkweed. "Is this a host plant, too?"
"Apparently on the flower buds! Never before recorded--in fact, I have no records on Asclepiadaceae/Apocynaceae at all," Shapiro said. "They lay on Callistemon (bottlebrush) too..."
Meanwhile, update: no monarchs, no eggs. We're still waiting.
But "yes" on the gray hairstreak, Strymon melinus, and "yes" on her eggs.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
If you've ever watched a Gray Hairstreak butterfly (Strymon melinus) nectaring a sedum, and then watched a honey bee (Apis mellifera) land on the same flower, it's a study in sharing.
"I was here first," says the Gray Hairstreak, sipping nectar.
"I was here second," says the honey bee.
So they wind up sharing, the butterfly and the honey bee. It's autumn and there's not much nectar anywhere.
"Stay back," says the butterfly.
"No," says the honey bee. "My colony needs the nectar."
So they crawl slowly on the blossom, meeting head to head, as if to prove that yes, "We can all get along."
The Gray Hairstreak is not so sure. The honey bee abruptly moves closer, and the startled butterfly lifts off to find another blossom.
The butterfly will be first again on a nearby sedum.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
"Omigosh, what's that? A gray hairstreak?"
If it's in your hair, you consult a mirror, your favorite salon, or just ignore it.
If you're an entomologist or a lepidopterist, a gray hairstreak is delightful. "Omigosh, check that out! A gray hairstreak!"
A gray hairsteak is a butterfly (Strymon melinus). It's basically gray with a large orange spot near its tail. It probably derives its name from the fine gray hairlike markings that cross the undersurface of the hind wings. If you look closely, you'll see threadlike tail projections, resembling antennae.
It's not a beautiful butterfly, as butterflies go, and oh, do they go! Fast and low-flying, it is difficult to photograph. If you catch it nectaring, that's your best shot.
In its caterpillar stage, it damages bean, corn and cotton crops.
Renowned butterfly expert Art Shapiro of UC Davis, who maintains an excellent butterfly Web site, says hairstreaks belong to the subfamily (Theclinae) and the gossamer-wing butterfly family (Lycaenidae).
"The gossamer-wings are a very diverse and complex family with at least 4750 species worldwide," he says. "In California, they can be grouped into the coppers (subfamily Lycaeninae), the blues (subfamily Polyommatinae), and the hairstreaks (subfamily Theclinae)."
The gray hairstreak is considered a weedy butterfly. "Weedy," as Shapiro explains on his Web site, "is a general term for organisms that are typically associated with habitats that are disturbed by human activities or are dominated by non-native, invasive plants."
Adults visit an immense variety of flowers, both wild and cultivated, says Shapiro. Indeed, the gray hairstreak is one of the most polyphagous butterflies known; it feeds on scores of different flowering plants.
In our bee friendly garden, a male gray hairstreak nectared last weekend on sage, sharing it with assorted honey bees.
Then like a streak, he was gone.
