Red-lined Scrub-Hairstreak (Strymon bebrycia [Hewitson])
Wing span: 1 - 1 1/4 inches (2.5 - 3.2 cm).
Identification: One long tail on hindwing. Upperside gray. Underside of hindwing gray with white submarginal spots; red-orange postmedian line capped with white toward the outer edge of the wing.
Life history: Males perch on hilltop bushes to find receptive females.
Flight: Possibly three broods in South Texas from February-December; flies all year in Mexico.
Caterpillar hosts: Balloon vine (Cardiospermum halicacabum) in the Sapindaceae family.
Adult food: Flower nectar.
Habitat: Subtropical thorn scrub, desert scrub.
Range: Northwest Costa Rica north through Mexico. Rare vagrant to South Texas and southern Arizona.
