Summary ⁴

The White M Hairstreak, Parrhasius m-album, is a species of butterfly of the Lycaenidae family. Adults can be observed in the oak canopy in spring before leaves expand and probably spend much time there in summer . Adults wander widely and can turn up on flowers almost anywhere.

Description ⁵

Tailed. Upper side iridescent blue with black borders. Underside grayish brown; white postmedian line edged with black and forming a white M (or W) near tail; white spot near base of costa.
Wing Span: 1 1/4 - 1 5/8 inches (3.2 -4.1 cm).

Larva Description ⁵

The larva, typical of other lycaenidae, is sluggish, yellow green and covered in downy hair. There are darker green stripes and oblique bars. It turns red-brown before pupation.

Larval Host Plants ⁵

Larval plant hosts include White oak (Quercus alba), live oak (Quercus virginiana), blackjack oak (Quercus marilandica), Shumard's oak (Quercus shumardii) (Fagaceae).

GTM Occurrence ⁵

The White M Hairstreak is considered a rare species at the GTM. All observations were in the open habitat along Transect A. This species
is sporadic in occurrence being observed in January, May, and August in 2008 and 2013. There have been 3 specimens observed as of December 28, 2015.

Distribution ⁶

Global Range: Iowa and Massachusetts south to Texas and Florida. Also extends south to South America. Commonest in Deep South and in Appalachian Mountains.

Habitat ⁷

Breeding habitats are forests, woodlands or occasionally scrub with a substantial oak component including swamps if there are oaks.

Nature serve conservation status ⁸

Rounded Global Status Rank: G5 - Secure

Reasons: Widespread, common species.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Sean McCann, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://www.flickr.com/photos/25449831@N00/116978257
2. (c) GTMResearchReserve, all rights reserved, uploaded by GTMResearchReserve
3. (c) aneye4wonder (Ineta McParland), some rights reserved (CC BY), https://www.flickr.com/photos/aneye4wonder/227895937/
4. Adapted by GTMResearchReserve from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parrhasius_m-album
5. (c) GTMResearchReserve, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
6. (c) NatureServe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/28777212
7. (c) NatureServe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/28777217
8. (c) NatureServe, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/28777206

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Animal Diversity Web
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• BugGuide
• Butterflies and Moths of North America
• CUIC Insect Images
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants
• Maryland Biodiversity Project
• Maryland Moths
• Mass Moths
• Moth Photographers Group
• Moths of North Carolina
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0

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