Strymon albata

Description

Strymon albata, the white hairstreak, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It was described by Cajetan Felder and Rudolf Felder in 1865. It is found from southern Texas to Costa Rica, Colombia, Venezuela and Trinidad. The habitat consists of second growth and shrubby fields in seasonally dry tropical lowlands. The wingspan is 29–35 mm. The upperside is gray with large areas of white patches. The underside of the hindwings is pale gray with a faded postmedian line. There are two generations in southern Texas with adults on wing from June to December. Adults are on wing year-round in the tropics. Adults feed on flower nectar of various flowers, including the blue boneset. The larvae feed on the flower buds and young fruits of Abutilon incanum.