''Strymon bazochii'', the lantana scrub-hairstreak or smaller lantana butterfly, is a

butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

in the family

Lycaenidae Lycaenidae is the second-largest family (biology), family of butterflies (behind Nymphalidae, brush-footed butterflies), with over 6,000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies. They constitute about 30% of ...

. It is found from

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

north through

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

, the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

and

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

to southern

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. It was introduced to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

in 1902 to control ''

Lantana ''Lantana'' () is a genus of about 150 species of perennial plant, perennial flowering plants in the verbena family, Verbenaceae. They are native to tropics, tropical regions of the Americas and Africa but exist as an introduced species in num ...

'' species, in which it has proven unsuccessful. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the opposite wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingsp ...

is 22–25 mm. Adults are on wing from May to December. There are two to three generations per year. The larvae feed on '' Lippia alba'' and '' Lippia graveolens'' in Texas. In Hawaii, they feed on ''

'' species and basils. Adults feed on

nectar Nectar is a viscous, sugar-rich liquid produced by Plant, plants in glands called nectaries, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollination, pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to an ...

from various flowers, including '' Bidens alba'', ''Lantana'' species and '' Stachytarpheta jamaicensis''.

Characteristics

''Strymon bazochii'' generally have metallic, brown wings with speckled, blue hues. Their eyes are grey. There are slight differences between male and female. Male butterflies will display horizontal, white lines on their wings. Females do not exhibit this pattern.

Life cycle

Metamorphosis

Like other butterflies, lantana scrub-hairstreaks undergo metamorphosis. Eggs are deposited in the plant species of ''Lantana Urticoides''. Within an average of thirty-one days, a caterpillar will have grown and begun forming its chrysalis. Over time, the protective layer will harden and exhibit a dark brown color, indicating the imminent emergence of the butterfly.

References

External links

Butterflies and Moths of North America: ''Strymon bazochii''
Strymon (butterfly) Butterflies of North America Butterflies of Central America Butterflies of the Caribbean Lycaenidae of South America Butterflies of Cuba Lepidoptera of Brazil Lepidoptera of Ecuador Lepidoptera of Venezuela Taxa named by Jean-Baptiste Godart Butterflies described in 1824 {{Lycaenidae-stub