Gray Hairstreak

Gray Hairstreak - Strymon melinus

If you see a small bluish-gray butterfly flying around your yard, there's a good chance it's a Gray Hairstreak (if you're somewhere between southern Canada and northern South America).  The caterpillars feed on a wide variety of flowers and fruits.  This butterfly was getting nectar from a white clover flower.

A friend of mine told me I should include some butterfly pictures because all the moth photos are kind of creepy (it's like you can feel one crawling in your hair as you read those moth posts).  I've found that butterflies are more challenging to photograph than moths, plus there are about 20 times more species of  moth, so there is more variety in subject matter.