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Species
Spotlight

Giant Silk
Moth Survey

EARLY HAIRSTREAK (Erora laeta)

Identification
Male is dingy gray above with small blue patches on trailing edge of hindwing. Female is iridescent blue with wide, dark borders on the forewing. Underside is turquoise blue with 2 irregular bands of small orange spots and fringe.

Massachusetts Butterfly Club photographs

Kaufman's Butterflies of North America, page 114
Glassberg's Butterflies Through Binoculars, plate 19

Habitat in Vermont
Beech forests

Host Plant
American Beech (Fagus grandifolia) and Beaked Hazelnut (Corylus cornuta) in some places.

Adult Food Preferences
Nectar from flowers of Fleabane (Erigeron sp.) and Ox-eyed Daisy (Chrysanthemum leucanthemum).

U.S. Distribution

VBS Distribution


VBS Flight Period
Five Records:
6/20/2002
6/15/2003
7/14/2003
5/31/2004
5/30/2006

Conservation Status
Rare; habitat and nectar sources should be protected. Beech trees are threatened by beech bark disease. Recent data from study plots in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine show that about 28 percent of the large beech had died, another 22 percent were dying, and many of the surviving trees were severely injured.

Notes
They are generally confined to forests with mature trees because females oviposit on beechnuts. It often takes beech trees 40-60 years to begin producing fruit. Early Hairstreaks are secretive and are seldom observed because they tend to perch in the forest canopy. Look for dirt roads near beech stands where they may be found on the ground at times.

Other Atlases
Connecticut (no records)
Massachusetts
U.S.A.
Canada