The white flowers below are called hidden flowers and are a species of the genus Cryptantha, I’m not sure which. They’re tiny, only about 2mm in diameter.1 I’ve never before seen a Sandia hairstreak browsing on them, so I was really excited to get the shot Saturday. Especially since I had to sit on the ground and shoot through dried grass to get it.2
Imagine my delight and amazement when I saw another Sandia hairstreak on the same kind of flowers yesterday morning, this time with its proboscis visibly sunk into the center of a flower. Then I realized the likely reason I’m seeing them on hidden flowers this year for the first time is that they’re out much later than most years. They generally go to ground when their host plant, beargrass, begins to bloom in early April. Yet I’ve seen only a single beargrass shooting up stalks so far this spring.3
I saw what I thought was yet another Sandia hairstreak flit by me this morning, only to realize it was a gray hairstreak. I hardly ever see gray hairstreaks! And this one turned toward me so that the light was perfect on it.
I especially like this photo because not only are the butterfly’s tails clearly visible, but they’re also throwing a fantastic shadow onto the Turbinella oak leaf behind it.
I was reminded of the last time I saw a gray hairstreak, almost two years ago. I actually thought I was photographing some species of blue at the time. When I got home and looked at my photos, I thought, “It’s not very blue, for a blue.” That was when I sheepishly realized it was actually a gray hairstreak. In my defense, I’ll say that I seldom see hairstreaks with their wings open. But still….
On another note, thanks to the many of you who responded to my query about shorter but more frequent emails. Every single one of you said almost exactly the same thing, which was essentially, “Do whatever you want, we’re always happy to see your photos.” Thank you so much for your support!
This particular Sandia hairstreak was an unusually small butterfly as well. I mean, they’re all tiny … but this one was even tinier than most.
As a general rule, ripping up bits of dried grass around a butterfly will succeed only in making it leave, which completely defeats the goal of getting a good photo.
My guess is that our exceptionally cold late winter and early spring may be responsible for the unusual schedule. I never see Sandia hairstreaks in late April, yet there’ve been so many the last couple of weeks that I can’t avoid them.
Amazing you can get such beautiful and detailed photos of things SO tiny!! Yay!
Since our walk with you we’re more aware of the smaller butterflies we see😊👍