"What a thousand acres of Silphiums looked like when they tickled the bellies of the buffalo is a question never again to be answered, and perhaps not even asked." -Aldo Leopold
Gray Hairstreak
Strymon melinus fam. Lycaenidae (Hodges#4336)
Host plant: Found on partridge pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata)
Date found: 07, Aug, 2025
Location found: Backyard prairie patch, St. Louis County, MO
Notes: After years of searching for a hairstreak caterpillar, I found 11 of these guys in one evening while searching the backyard prairie with a UV flashlight. Plant partridge pea!
Tonight I’m just sharing some photos of a few lovely Lycaenid butterflies that I had the pleasure of photographing this season. The Lycaenidae family is the second largest family of butterflies, with about 6,000 species worldwide. The highlight was the bountiful season that the juniper hairstreak (Callophrys gryneus) had. Prior to this year, I had only seen one or two in a season, usually without my macro rig with me. In a few trips to the glades in Jefferson County this spring, Casey and I had at least two dozen individuals. They are not usually cooperative, but we worked pretty hard to get something.
First up is the afore mentioned C. gryneus.
A Thousand Acres of Silphiums 