User:Mvtrinh/Great purple hairstreak

The great purple hairstreak (Atlides halesus), also called the great blue hairstreak, is a common gossamer-winged butterfly species in parts of the United States. This species of butterfly is commonly found in temperate climates throughout Mexico and southern United States

The common names refer to the butterfly's two main colors – dusky purple on the underside, and iridescent blue above. Particularly the males are very colorful in flight – brilliant blue and velvety black, with bright red and golden markings – but when sitting down they show their inconspicuous dusky purple underside. On each hindwing, there are two tails, with one short and one long tail, lending itself to the name "hairstreak". Several subspecies are recognized.

The great purple hairstreak is present locally in areas where mistletoe (Phoradendron) grows as the caterpillar larvae of this species feeds primarily on mistletoe as their host plant.

Description
The wingspan on the adult butterfly ranges from 1.25 to 1.5 inches. Despite its common name "great purple hairstreak", this butterfly does not sport any purple coloration. Instead, the upper-side of the wings are iridescent blue at the center, with a black border, and males typically have both a more extensive and brighter blue wing coloration when compared to their female counterparts. On the hind wings, the butterfly has two sets of tails of unequal length, which are the "hairstreaks" of this butterfly. The under-side of the wings are black, with orange-gold colored spots, with one spot on each of the front wings, and two spots on each hind-wing near the tails. The abdomen of the butterfly features a blue upper-side and an orange under-side.

Like other butterfly species, the morphology of Atlides halesus' hindwings mimic a head. The combination of the tails, resembling antenna of a butterfly, along with the orange spots on each hind-wing, which resembles eyes, gives the butterfly a "false head". When perching, the butterfly will also orient their body so the tails point upwards while the real head points downwards, in addition to moving their bodies back and forth. The morphology of the hindwings along with this behavior will direct the attention of predators towards the false head, allowing the butterfly to minimize damage towards essential regions of the body by deflecting attack towards the less vulnerable hindwings.

Distribution
In the Americas, Atlides Halesus, is common from southern Mexico to the southern United States. In Mexico, sightings have been reported in the following states: Aguascalientes, Baja California, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Mexico City, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Durango, Guerrero, Jalisco, Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, Sonora, Tamaulipas, Veracruz, and Hildago. In the United States, the butterfly has been found in most southern states and has been spotted as far north as New York and Oregon.

Eggs
The eggs appear white with a hard and solid outer surface. During oviposition, female butterflies will lay as many as twenty single eggs at different locations on the leaves of a mistletoe plant. After eclosion, larvae will emerge from the top of the egg, leaving behind an opening at the top of the egg. Unlike other butterfly species, newly hatched larvae will not consume the rest of the egg shell as their first meal.

Larvae
The caterpillar appears green, and this coloration will darken as the caterpillar ages, allowing for successful camouflage with the leaves of their mistletoe host plant. Caterpillars are commonly spotted in the spring to early summer and have been primarily found on leaves and non-woody stems of mistletoe. Atlides Halesus caterpillars will feed on the leaves of their host plant until time of pupation, which is around 20 days from eclosion to pupation. The larvae mainly feeds on young leaves on the mistletoe plant, with early instar larvae being unable to chew through older leaves until they develop into late instar caterpillars. In addition, caterpillars have been observed to entirely defoliate their host plant before, leaving behind only the stems.

Pupa
At the end of the larval stage, late instar larvae migrate to the base of the tree and will undergo pupation under pieces of bark or under fallen leaves. Pupae appear dark brown, and the adult butterfly will develop in its pupa before emerging after about a minimum of 16 days.

Adult
After about 16 days from pupation to hatching, the adult butterfly will emerge from its chrysalis. During flight season, which stretches from spring to early summer, and from early fall to winter, ovipositioning females preferentially target isolated mistletoe plants that have trunks of a smaller diameter to lay their eggs on, which is likely to minimize competition from other ovipositioning butterflies.