Diet

• Adults feed on flower nectar and may visit a variety of small flowering plants in its arid and semi-arid habitats.

Range

• The Sonoran Hairstreak is distributed from southern Arizona through western Mexico, including the Baja California peninsula and the mainland Pacific slope.

• In Mexico its range extends southward to Guerrero, making it a species of the dry tropical regions of western Mexico.

• It occurs in the Zihua area, particularly where dry tropical scrub and open woodland provide suitable conditions.

Habitat

• This small hairstreak is associated primarily with desert scrub, thornscrub and dry tropical woodland, especially along streams and other areas where vegetation is somewhat denser than the surrounding landscape.

• In western Mexico it can occur in seasonally dry habitats and along wooded stream margins.

• Its preference for vegetation associated with watercourses is particularly notable in otherwise arid landscapes.

Description

• The Sonoran Hairstreak is a small butterfly with a wingspan of approximately 25–30 mm.

• The male has predominantly blue upperwings, with a conspicuous dark or black spot on the forewing. Females are generally duller and more brownish, with less extensive blue.

• The underside is grey to grey-brown, crossed by fine darker streaks and lines. A contrasting orange to reddish postmedian line runs across the hindwing, accompanied by small dark markings near the outer margin.

• The combination of blue upperwings, a dark forewing spot and the finely streaked underside with orange markings is useful for distinguishing it from other small western Mexican hairstreaks.