Finding Utah Butterflies-->Gray Hairstreak (Strymon melinus franki)

Overview:

I am including Gray Hairstreaks under neighborhood butterflies because I have occasionally seen them in my yard here in Salt Lake City. Similar to West Coast Ladies, Gray Hairstreaks use cheeseweed (Malva neglecta) as a larval host plant here in the valley floors. In the mountains, Gray Hairstreaks use many other flowering plants such as milk-vetch (Astragalus spp.) Utah sweet-vetch (Hedysarum boreale), and redroot buckwheat (Eriogonum racemosum) in the late summer/fall. Spotting Gray Hairstreaks on the wing can be very difficult for those not familiar with its quick and daunting flight patterns as it darts around flowers before finally landing. Gray Hairstreaks also can be found in our mountain canyons and hillsides; but never in great numbers.

Caterpillars are not difficult to find in September.

Note: To leverage the next section and fly to specific locations, you need to install Google Earth.

Specific Localities:

Rock Canyon, Utah County, Utah. N40 15'54.35" W111 37'34.64" or click here.
Wasatch Hillside, Salt Lake County, Utah. N40 42'25.93" W111 47'29.19" or click here.
Farmington Canyon, Davis County, Utah. N40 59'47.95" W111 53'2.43" or click here.

Flight Periods:

These butterflies can be found from April to August.

Raising Caterpillars Resources:

Eggs of the Gray Hairstreak can be found on flowers of milk-vetch (Astragalus spp.) along the Wasatch Hillside link provided above in late April. Caterpillars can also be found at the same location feeding on the pink flowers of Eriogonum racemosum in September.

Raising Butterflies: http://www.raisingbutterflies.org/gray-hairstreak/

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