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| Common Name | White-M Hairstreak by Salman Abdulali => 2013-10-20. Boyd Lee Park, Pitt County
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| Scientific Name | Parrhasius m-album
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| Link to BAMONA species account. |
| Map | Click on a county for list of all database records for the species in that county.
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| Distribution | DISTRIBUTION: Statewide; though recorded from just over two-thirds of the counties, it may well occur in nearly all 100 counties. The large "holes" in the range map are presumably artifacts of field work and not of true scarcity.
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| Abundance | ABUNDANCE: Very uncommon to uncommon, but widespread. Potentially could be seen almost anywhere at any time from March to October. Seldom more than one or two are seen by an observer in a day. Abundance seems about evenly distributed over the state, not obviously more "numerous" in one province over another, even though our three highest one-day counts are in the Coastal Plain. In 2021, there were a remarkable 49 records in the state, though nearly all were of just a single individual (and 10 or more records were from a single observer's yard!),
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| Flight | FLIGHT PERIOD: At least three broods, if not four; downstate -- early March to mid- or late April; mid-May to mid-June; mid-July into August; and August to mid-October (and now into early November). Mountain data suggest three broods from mid-March to mid-October.
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| Habitat | HABITAT: The species is found in typical hairstreak places, which is usually along the margin of, or openings in, a hardwood forest. Upland oak forests are typical. It occurs along the coast as well as in the higher Mountains; it occurs near maritime forests, and oak forests in the Mountains. Wide trails through hardwood forests are your best places to look for them. Edges of powerline clearings are also places to look.
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| Plants | FOOD AND NECTAR PLANTS: The foodplants are various oaks (Quercus spp.), mainly upland species. Nectar plants are quite varied; goldenrods (Solidago spp.), New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus americanus), and Indian-hemp (Apocynum cannabinum) are frequently used.
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| Comments | COMMENTS: Why this butterfly is so scarce is a mystery. Oaks are abundant in NC, and thus potential habitat is ubiquitous. The species is always found by accident; its habitat is so widespread that it cannot be specifically searched for. It probably occurs in all NC counties, but many gaps in the range are present. Interestingly, the three individuals I saw in the Dismal Swamp were nowhere near oaks, which are rare at that site! To emphasize the difficulty of targeting of habitats and hostplants to find the species, Derb Carter managed to see a state record 146 butterfly species in the state in 2018, finding nearly of all of the regularly breeding species and a handful of migrants and strays; his biggest miss was White-M Hairstreak, even though he could theoretically have seen it on nearly every day afield from March through October!
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State Rank | S4 | | State Status | |
Global Rank | G5 | | Federal Status | |
| Synonym | Parrhasius malbum
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| Other Name | White M Hairstreak
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