Early Hairstreak (Erora laeta)

Early Hairstreak (Erora laeta)

This tiny gray-green butterfly is one of the rarest species in the state. The butterfly is so small it makes this diminutive daisy-fleabane (Erigeron sp.) flower look gigantic.

Photographed in Mitchell Co., NC, near the Tennessee line, on 6 July 2002.

At certain angles the pale green in the wings really glows.

All photographs and text ©2013 by Will Cook unless otherwise noted.