Satyrium acadica

Satyrium acadica, the Acadian hairstreak, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in North America from British Columbia east to Nova Scotia and south to Idaho, Colorado, the northern Midwest, Maryland, and New Jersey.^[3]

Satyrium acadica
Adult
Conservation status
Secure  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Lycaenidae
Genus:	Satyrium
Species:	S. acadica
Binomial name
Satyrium acadica (W. H. Edwards, 1862)[2]
Synonyms
Strymon acadica Thecla acadica Satyrium acadicum Strymon souhegan Whitney, 1868 Strymon muskoka Watson & Comstock, 1920 Strymon swetti Watson & Comstock, 1920 Strymon coolinensis Watson & Comstock, 1920 Strymon montanensis Watson & Comstock, 1920

The wingspan is 29–38 mm. Like other hairstreaks, each hindwing has two tails near the tip. The shorter, upper tail is very short and often does not look at all like a tail. The upperside is brown grey, while the underside of the hindwings is grey. Adults are on wing from June to August in one generation per year. They feed on flower nectar of various flowers such as butterflyweed, milkweeds, and thistles.^[4]

The larvae feed on the leaves of Salix species, including S. nigra and S. sericea. The species overwinters as an egg.

Subspecies

• Satyrium acadica acadica
• Satyrium acadica coolinense (Watson & Comstock, 1920)
• Satyrium acadica montanense (Watson & Comstock, 1920)
• Satyrium acadica watrini (Dufrane, 1939)