Red-crescent Scrub-Hairstreak (Strymon rufofusca [Hewitson])
Wing span: 1 - 1 1/8 inches (2.5 - 2.9 cm).
Identification: One tail on hindwing. Upperside brown. Underside gray; hindwing postmarginal line red-orange, broken into dashes.
Life history: Eggs are laid singly on flower buds of the host plant.
Flight: In July and from October-December in South Texas; throughout the year in the tropics.
Caterpillar hosts: Malvastrum coromandelianum (family Malvaceae) in Mexico.
Adult food: Flower nectar.
Habitat: Open pastures and weedy fields.
Range: Argentina north through Central America and Mexico to South Texas.
