page_title: Colorado hairstreak
hierarchical_section_title: Colorado hairstreak
caption_attribution_description: English: Colorado Hairstreak (Hypaurotis crysalus)
context_page_description: The Colorado hairstreak is a montane butterfly native to oak scrubland in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It was designated the state insect of Colorado in 1996. It is the only species in the genus Hypaurotis.
  The upperside of the Colorado hairstreak's wings is dark purple with a broad black or dark border. Each wing has orange spots at the lower outer edge, and each hindwing has a thin hairlike tail. The lower side of the wings is pale to dark gray with white and dark markings, an orange patch on the margin of each forewing, and an orange spot with a black center on the hindwing near the tail. It has a wingspan of 3.1–3.8 cm.
  This species depends upon the Gambel oak, which is both the favorite roost of adults and usual food source for caterpillars. Eggs are laid singly in late summer on twigs of Gambel oaks or another oak species. The caterpillars emerge in the spring and eat young leaves. Adults feed on tree sap and probably honeydew secreted by other insects rather than on flowers. The species has one flight, usually from mid-June to August.
context_section_description: The Colorado hairstreak (Hypaurotis crysalus) is a montane butterfly native to oak scrubland in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It was designated the state insect of Colorado in 1996. It is the only species in the genus Hypaurotis.
  The upperside of the Colorado hairstreak's wings is dark purple with a broad black or dark border. Each wing has orange spots at the lower outer edge, and each hindwing has a thin hairlike tail. The lower side of the wings is pale to dark gray with white and dark markings, an orange patch on the margin of each forewing, and an orange spot with a black center on the hindwing near the tail. It has a wingspan of 3.1–3.8 cm (1.2–1.5 in).
  This species depends upon the Gambel oak (Quercus gambelii), which is both the favorite roost of adults and usual food source for caterpillars. Eggs are laid singly in late summer on twigs of Gambel oaks or another oak species. The caterpillars emerge in the spring and eat young leaves. Adults feed on tree sap and probably honeydew secreted by other insects rather than on flowers. The species has one flight, usually from mid-June to August. It is found mainly in Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico, the Colorado Plateau states, although it can also be found in small portions of Nevada, Wyoming, and Durango, Mexico.
caption: Underside of the wings
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "QuickTime 7.6.3", "Image DateTime": "2010:09:05 18:33:22", "Image HostComputer": "Mac OS X 10.6", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "258", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "9402", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "5482", "Thumbnail YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/160", "EXIF FNumber": "8", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Manual", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "1600", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2010:09:05 16:42:28", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2010:09:05 16:42:28", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "239925/32768", "EXIF ApertureValue": "6", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash fired, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "100", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "3456", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2304", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "1728000/437", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "384000/97", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Manual Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard"}