Butterflies of North Carolina

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Scientific Name begins with:
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Once on a species account page, clicking on the "View PDF" link will show the flight data for that species, for each of the three regions of the state.
Other information, such as high counts and earliest/latest dates, can also been seen on the PDF page.

Related Species in LYCAENIDAE:
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Common Name

Early Hairstreak by Dave Patton => 2015-08-05. Watauga County
[View PDF]

Click to enlarge
[Google Images] BoA [Images ]

Scientific Name

Erora laeta

Link to BAMONA species account.

Map

Click on a county for list of all database records for the species in that county.

Distribution

DISTRIBUTION: Restricted in NC to the mountains, where it apparently occurs throughout the province mainly at higher elevations (over 4000 feet), but a few records below 3000 feet. In fact, a 2018 record from Madison County came from a site at an elevation of about 1300 feet!

Abundance

ABUNDANCE: Rare, or at least seldom encountered; this is a real "prize" to find.

Flight

FLIGHT PERIOD: Two broods; early April to mid- or late May, and mid- or late June to early August. Most likely to be seen in late April or the first ten days of July.

Habitat

HABITAT: The species inhabits edges and openings in mid- to high elevation hardwood forests. Typical sites include edges of dirt roads and sunlit trails through northern hardwood forests, and hardwoods along the margins of rock outcrops. It is not an inhabitant of the shade of forest interiors.

See also Habitat Account for General Montane Mesic Forests

Plants

FOOD AND NECTAR PLANTS: The major foodplant in NC is apparently American Beech (Fagus grandifolia), but Beaked Hazelnut (Corylus cornuta) has also been reported. The species nectars on many plants, but Oxeye Daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare) and fleabanes (Erigeron annuus and E. strigosus) are most frequently used.

Comments

COMMENTS: This is one of the rarest and most prized butterflies in the eastern United States. Part of its rarity can be explained by its habit of spending most of the day perched on leaves 20+ feet off the ground.

Early Hairstreaks can be searched for by walking along dirt roads (and probably also paved roads) at mid- to high elevations (over 3500 feet) through hardwood forests, examining flowers such as fleabanes and Oxeye Daisy along the edge of the road. They have also been seen at several overlooks near the southern end of the Blue Ridge Parkway. As with most hairstreaks, the butterflies are very tame when nectaring and can be poked to observe the blue on the upper wings, though the bright aqua blue-green and scarlet of the under wings (on fresh individuals) is striking enough for easy identification. However, the green scales wear off quickly, and most individuals, even some not obviously worn, are gray below with scarlet bars (as in the photos on this website).

Prior to 2014, there seemed to be just one to several photos of this species taken in the state, of an individual in Mitchell County. Thankfully, Owen McConnell photographed one in Graham County on April 24, for a first county record; and Doug Allen photographed two on July 2 along the Blue Ridge Parkway in Haywood and Jackson counties. Excellent photos were taken of an Early Hairstreak by Dave Patton in 2015 in Watauga County, also documenting a first county record.

State Rank

S2S3

State Status

Global Rank

G2G3

Federal Status

Synonym

Other Name

Links to other butterfly galleries: [Cook] [Lynch] [Pippen] [Pugh]
	Photo by: Derb Carter Comment: Madison County. 2018-Apr-11 Early Hairstreak - Click to enlarge	Photo by: Dave Patton Comment: Watauga County. Pigeon Roost Road near Banner Elk. 2015-Aug-05 Early Hairstreak - Click to enlarge
	Photo by: W. Cook Comment: Mitchell Co., NC, near the Tennessee line, on 6 July 2002. Early Hairstreak - Click to enlarge	Photo by: Doug Allen Comment: 2014-July-02. Haywood County at or near mile marker 420.2 Balsam Spring Gap, elev. 5550 Early Hairstreak - Click to enlarge
	Photo by: Doug Allen Comment: 2014-Jul-02. Jackson County. Hairstreak was at Richland Balsam parking overlook, mile marker 431.4 Early Hairstreak - Click to enlarge	Photo by: Doug Allen Comment: 2014-Jul-02. Jackson County. Hairstreak was at Richland Balsam parking overlook, mile marker 431.4 Early Hairstreak - Click to enlarge
	Photo by: Owen McConnell Comment: Graham Co. - 2014-Apr-24. worn Early Hairstreak - Click to enlarge