Mallow scrub-hairstreak
Strymon istapa
The mallow scrub-hairstreak is a small butterfly that likes dry, weedy places. It has a clever trick: the edge of each back wing looks like a pair of feelers. It rubs its back wings together to make the fake feelers wiggle.
Lives in
The southern United States, Central America and the Caribbean, rarely South America
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It cannot bite or sting.
What does it eat?
Like other butterflies, the adult drinks nectar from flowers.
How fast is it?
A person walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)
A kid running fast about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)
Mallow scrub-hairstreak about 15 km/h (9.3 mph)
A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
Birds may peck at the fake feelers on its back wings instead of its real head.
2
It flies during the day.
3
It is often found in weedy fields and cleared land near farms and towns.
you asked
Most asked questions about Mallow scrub-hairstreak
?Why does the mallow scrub-hairstreak rub its wings?
Rubbing its back wings makes the fake feelers on them move and catch attention.
?Where does the mallow scrub-hairstreak live?
In dry places in the southern United States, Central America and the Caribbean.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Strymon istapa
- Group
- Butterflies
- Family
- Lycaenidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Lycaenidae
- Lives on
- North America, South America
- Also known as
- Mallow hairstreak, Dotted hairstreak, Hewitson's hairstreak
Where the facts come from
- Strymon istapa (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Charles J. Sharp. CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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