Erora laeta - The early hairstreak

[mothman55]

Finally found this difficult to find butterfly. Had been looking each May for the past 3 years, and this year I was fortunate to locate them on two dates. The first time I saw both a male and the more beautiful female. A couple of days later I saw only a single male. These tiny leps feed on the American beech, so you have to search in the vicinity of the host, and they have a habit of coming down from the trees in the afternoon to sip minerals from dirt roads. There are only a very few locations in Ontario that the early hairstreak has been sighted, and its only about a two week window in May.

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[Paul K]

Congrats! This is one of few species occur in Ontario that I am still missing.

[58chevy]

Wow, great species! I have never collected or even seen a live one.