Pollinator
Coral hairstreak
Satyrium titus
A tailless hairstreak ringed below with coral-orange spots.
- Family
- Lycaenidae (gossamer-wings)
- Wingspan
- 1 to 1.5 in (2.5 to 3.8 cm)
- Flight season
- Summer
- Range
- Across North America
- Caterpillar food
- Wild cherry and plum
- Conservation
- Secure and widespread
The coral hairstreak is a warm brown gossamer-wing, unusual among hairstreaks for lacking tails, and ringed beneath the hindwing with a striking band of coral-orange spots.
It flies in a single summer brood and is famous for its love of orange butterfly milkweed, where it often gathers.
Caterpillars feed on the young fruit and leaves of wild cherry and plum.
Plants for the coral hairstreak
4 caterpillar host plants and 28 documented nectar plants. Pick a role, then narrow with the filters below.
32 plants
Nectar
1 of 2 Common Sunflower Helianthus annuus Nectar
1 of 2 Common yarrow complex Achillea millefolium Host
Chokecherry Prunus virginiana Nectar
1 of 2 Butterfly milkweed Asclepias tuberosa Nectar
1 of 3 Wild bergamot Monarda fistulosa Nectar
1 of 2 Common Snowberry Symphoricarpos albus Host
1 of 2 American plum Prunus americana Nectar
1 of 2 Common boneset Eupatorium perfoliatum Nectar
1 of 2 Virginia strawberry Fragaria virginiana Host
1 of 2 Fire cherry Prunus pensylvanica Nectar
1 of 3 Pearly everlasting Anaphalis margaritacea Nectar
1 of 2 Tall goldenrod Solidago altissima Nectar
1 of 2 False indigo bush Amorpha fruticosa Nectar
1 of 2 Showy milkweed Asclepias speciosa Nectar
1 of 2 Spreading dogbane Apocynum androsaemifolium Nectar
1 of 2 Wood Lily Lilium philadelphicum Host
Hollyleaf cherry Prunus ilicifolia Nectar
1 of 2 Common wrinkle-leaved goldenrod Solidago rugosa Nectar
1 of 2 Red chokeberry Aronia arbutifolia Nectar
1 of 2 Hoary vervain Verbena stricta Nectar
Leadplant Amorpha canescens Nectar
1 of 2 Silvery lupine Lupinus argenteus Nectar
1 of 2 Common woolly sunflower Eriophyllum lanatum Nectar
Narrowleaf mountainmint Pycnanthemum tenuifolium Nectar
1 of 2 Virginia mountain mint Pycnanthemum virginianum Nectar
1 of 2 Sulfur buckwheat Eriogonum umbellatum Nectar
1 of 3 Sticky geranium Geranium viscosissimum Nectar
1 of 2 Tidy tips Layia platyglossa Nectar
1 of 2 Prairie Onion Allium stellatum Nectar
1 of 3 Oregon iris Iris tenax Nectar
Narrowleaf mule-ears Wyethia angustifolia Nectar
Missouri goldenrod Solidago missouriensis
1 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 31 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 31 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 21 of 31 of 21 of 21 of 3No plants match those filters.
Sources
- Butterflies and Moths of North America ↗
- iNaturalist ↗
- Plant associations from GloBI flower-visit records and NPIN larval-host data. Butterfly photographs via iNaturalist (CC BY).