Master Gardeners of Ventura County
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Master Gardeners of Ventura County

Posts Tagged: Gray Hairstreak

Gray Hairstreak Host Plant: A Record of Some Kind?

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...

The gray hairstreak, Strymon melinus, finds a play her lay her eggs, on the buds of a tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The gray hairstreak, Strymon melinus, finds a play her lay her eggs, on the buds of a tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The gray hairstreak, Strymon melinus, finds a play her lay her eggs, on the buds of a tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Gray hairstreak, Strymon melinus, laying eggs on the buds of a tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Gray hairstreak, Strymon melinus, laying eggs on the buds of a tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Gray hairstreak, Strymon melinus, laying eggs on the buds of a tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Wednesday, September 22, 2021 at 1:00 PM
Focus Area Tags: Environment, Natural Resources, Yard & Garden

Gotta Love that Gray Hairstreak

Gotta love that Gray Hairstreak. If you don't like putting "gray" and "hair" in the same sentence, not to worry. This is the butterfly, Strymon melinus. When the it's hanging around a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, the orange spots...

The Gray Hairstreak, Strymon melinus, sips nectar on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in a Vacaville pollinator garden. The orange spots accent the orange flower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Gray Hairstreak, Strymon melinus, sips nectar on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in a Vacaville pollinator garden. The orange spots accent the orange flower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Gray Hairstreak, Strymon melinus, sips nectar on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in a Vacaville pollinator garden. The orange spots accent the orange flower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Gray Hairstreak, Strymon melinus, dips low to sip nectar on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in a Vacaville pollinator garden.  (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Gray Hairstreak, Strymon melinus, dips low to sip nectar on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Gray Hairstreak, Strymon melinus, dips low to sip nectar on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Eye to eye: the Gray Hairstreak, resembling the sail on a sailboat, eyes the photographer. Note the
Eye to eye: the Gray Hairstreak, resembling the sail on a sailboat, eyes the photographer. Note the "companion" at its side. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Eye to eye: the Gray Hairstreak, resembling the sail on a sailboat, eyes the photographer. Note the "companion" at its side. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Thursday, July 15, 2021 at 4:20 PM
Focus Area Tags: Environment, Natural Resources, Yard & Garden

A Gray Streak on the Fava Beans

Seen any gray hairstreaks, lately? No, not on someone's head. This is the butterfly, Strymon melilnus, from the Lycaenidae family, known as the gossamer-winged butterflies. It's an ashy gray butterfly with a white border. You'll also see orange spots...

A gray hairstreak butterfly, Strymon melinus, on fava beans. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A gray hairstreak butterfly, Strymon melinus, on fava beans. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A gray hairstreak butterfly, Strymon melinus, on fava beans. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Friday, April 9, 2021 at 6:32 PM
Focus Area Tags: Environment, Health, Yard & Garden

On a Winning Streak!

You're on a winning streak when you spot a gray hairstreak. No, not the streak in Grandpa's hair--the streak on Grandma's flowers. It's the gray hairstreak butterfly, Strymon mellinus, also known as the common hairstreak. Butterfly guru Art Shapiro,...

Gray hairstreak, Strymon mellinus, nectaring on lavender in Vacaville, Calif. in April. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Gray hairstreak, Strymon mellinus, nectaring on lavender in Vacaville, Calif. in April. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Gray hairstreak, Strymon mellinus, nectaring on lavender in Vacaville, Calif. in April. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Hi, there! A gray hairsteak checks out the photographer. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Hi, there! A gray hairsteak checks out the photographer. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Hi, there! A gray hairsteak checks out the photographer. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

This is a European green hairstreak (Callophrys rubi). Charles J. Sharp of Sharp Photography, UK, captured this image in Aston Upthorpe, Oxfordshire. (Photo courtesy of Wikipedia)
This is a European green hairstreak (Callophrys rubi). Charles J. Sharp of Sharp Photography, UK, captured this image in Aston Upthorpe, Oxfordshire. (Photo courtesy of Wikipedia)

This is a European green hairstreak (Callophrys rubi). Charles J. Sharp of Sharp Photography, UK, captured this image in Aston Upthorpe, Oxfordshire. (Photo courtesy of Wikipedia)

Posted on Wednesday, April 5, 2017 at 4:48 AM

A Winning Streak

It's delightful to see the gray hairstreak. We're not talking about the gray streaks in our hair as we age (to perfection, of course!). We're talking about the gray hairstreak, a common gray butterfly found throughout the United States, coast to...

A common gray hairstreak, Strymon melinus, nectarine on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia). Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A common gray hairstreak, Strymon melinus, nectarine on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia). Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A common gray hairstreak, Strymon melinus, nectarine on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia). Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Check out the length of the proboscis on the gray hairstreak as it sips nectar. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Check out the length of the proboscis on the gray hairstreak as it sips nectar. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Check out the length of the proboscis on the gray hairstreak as it sips nectar. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Peek-a-boo! A gray hairstreak peers at the photographer. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Peek-a-boo! A gray hairstreak peers at the photographer. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Peek-a-boo! A gray hairstreak peers at the photographer. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Monday, October 19, 2015 at 7:33 PM
Tags: Art Shapiro (297), gray hairstreak (8), Strymon melinus (10), UC Davis (325)

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