S1

King's Hairstreak

Scientific Name (Satyrium kingi)

King’s Hairstreak, Satyrium kingi (Klots and Clench), is found mostly in the Atlantic Coastal Plain region from the southern Delaware-Maryland border, southward to Florida and westward to the Gulf States to eastern Texas (1, 2). In Maryland, the King's Hairstreak has been seen on the lower Eastern Shore (3). Federally, this species is considered vulnerable (G3/G4), meaning it is at risk of extinction with relatively few populations, and widespread declines, and in Maryland it has the rank of highest conservation status, S1 (4).

Identification

King’s Hairstreak has a wing span of about 1 1/8 – 1 ½ inches. They can be identified by their two tails: one short tail and one long. Their underside is light brown with a blue spot and an orange cap hovering right below their bottom tail on their hindwing (3).

Life Cycle

The Kings Hairstreak has one generation per year, with most of the year spent in the egg stage. Larvae generally emerge from eggs in April and early May and feed on common sweetleaf (Symplocos tinctoria) also called horse sugar (1, 3, 4)(5). It is found that under laboratory conditions, eggs are laid near twig tips, larvae emerge and go through three molts (1, 5) before pupation, and finally emerge as adults sometime during Late May, and early June (1, 3, 5).

Adult males have been reported higher in the tree, on the tops of broad leaves, sunning themselves. During courtship, they often dart down to the saplings to look for females. Females are noted to fly lower (1.0 – 3.0 m) among the saplings (6). As an adult the butterflies will retrieve nectar from Allegheny chinquapin and sourwood, both native to the U.S. (7).