{"id":129139,"date":"2024-06-03T02:58:01","date_gmt":"2024-06-03T07:58:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=129139"},"modified":"2024-05-28T17:01:31","modified_gmt":"2024-05-28T22:01:31","slug":"gray-hairstreak-butterfly-on-an-upright-prairie-coneflower","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/06\/03\/gray-hairstreak-butterfly-on-an-upright-prairie-coneflower\/","title":{"rendered":"Gray Hairstreak Butterfly On An Upright Prairie Coneflower"},"content":{"rendered":"

When I visited Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge last week I spent some time photographing Gray Hairstreak butterflies, a butterfly species that is new to me.<\/p>\n

\"GrayGray Hairstreak on an Upright Prairie Coneflower – Nikon D500, f8, 1\/2000, ISO 640, -1.0 EV, Nikkor 500mm VR with 1.4x TC, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I “know” hairstreak butterflies just by looking at them, but I did have to use iNaturalist<\/span><\/a> for help with identifying this species.<\/p>\n

I learned about the Upright Prairie Coneflower after moving here to Oklahoma, so I already knew what the wildflower was.<\/p>\n

I stopped on my way out of the refuge to check out this wildflower patch, hoping to find butterflies that were new to me. I was not disappointed at all. Quite frankly, I was elated.<\/p>\n

I adore the big, dark eyes of this small hairstreak butterfly species, along with the orange and black markings on its light gray wings. What I didn’t get photos of, and that I am still hoping for, is a photo of this species with its wings open. I would love that.<\/p>\n

Maybe on my next visit to the refuge that will happen! Or at home, since I recently discovered this butterfly species on a clump of Spotted Bee Balm, also known as Horsemint (Monarda punctata<\/em>), in the yard here. How wonderful is that?<\/p>\n

The Upright Prairie Coneflowers seem to be a favorite wildflower for many different species of butterflies, flies, bees, and moths. They are so bright and colorful that it is easy to see why so many insects are attracted to them.<\/p>\n

I am thoroughly enjoying exploring this refuge for the birds, animals, insects, and wildflowers that I have had in my viewfinder.<\/p>\n

On my first visit to the refuge, I saw a bobcat bound across the road in front of me. Unfortunately, it was still too dark to take photos, and I can’t photograph through my windshield with my long lens! I hope to be able to add a bobcat photo gallery to my site soon.<\/p>\n

Life is good. I am giddy about all the “new” subjects I am seeing. How could I not be?<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see my insect and spider galleries. Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my flower, shrub and tree photos.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When I visited Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge last week I spent some time photographing Gray Hairstreak butterflies, a butterfly species that is new to me.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":129137,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15124,13973,15021],"tags":[4004,6098,6557,7353,13985,13984,6041,6042,15098,15033,1124,6518,15125,15127,15128,6044,6509,15032,12971,165,15126,15031,4307,5063],"class_list":["post-129139","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gray-hairstreak-butterflies","category-oklahoma","category-tishomingo-national-wildlife-refuge","tag-adult","tag-blooming","tag-blooms","tag-blossoms","tag-bottomland-hardwood-forests","tag-bottomlands","tag-butterflies","tag-butterfly","tag-coneflower","tag-coneflowers","tag-field","tag-flowering","tag-gray-hairstreak","tag-hairstreak","tag-hairstreaks","tag-nectaring","tag-orange-wildflowers","tag-ratibida-columnifera","tag-red-wildflowers","tag-spring","tag-strymon-melinus","tag-upright-prairie-coneflower","tag-wildflowers","tag-yellow-wildflowers"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Gray-Hairstreak-Strymon-melinus-mia-mcpherson-2607.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-xAT","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":142553,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/04\/03\/gray-hairstreak-butterfly-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":129139,"position":0},"title":"Gray Hairstreak Butterfly Photos – For The Love Of Butterflies","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 3, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Butterflies are rapidly declining in North America, so I\u2019m photographing and sharing them often. Today, I\u2019m sharing Gray Hairstreak photos.","rel":"","context":"In "Gray Hairstreak Butterflies"","block_context":{"text":"Gray Hairstreak Butterflies","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/wildlife\/gray-hairstreak-butterflies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Upright Prairie Coneflower and a Gray Hairstreak butterfly, Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Gray-Hairstreak-Strymon-melinus-mia-mcpherson-2452.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Gray-Hairstreak-Strymon-melinus-mia-mcpherson-2452.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Gray-Hairstreak-Strymon-melinus-mia-mcpherson-2452.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/Gray-Hairstreak-Strymon-melinus-mia-mcpherson-2452.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":128836,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/05\/21\/butterfly-photos-from-tishomingo-national-wildlife-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":129139,"position":1},"title":"Butterfly Photos From Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 21, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"This morning, I wanted to share a few more things with wings: a set of butterfly photos I took recently at Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma.","rel":"","context":"In "Oklahoma"","block_context":{"text":"Oklahoma","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/oklahoma\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Orange Sulphur butterfly on a coneflower, Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/orange-sulphur-butterfly-mia-mcpherson-1537.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/orange-sulphur-butterfly-mia-mcpherson-1537.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/orange-sulphur-butterfly-mia-mcpherson-1537.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/orange-sulphur-butterfly-mia-mcpherson-1537.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":128507,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/05\/13\/common-checkered-skipper-butterfly-at-tishomingo-nwr\/","url_meta":{"origin":129139,"position":2},"title":"Common Checkered-Skipper Butterfly At Tishomingo NWR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 13, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm sharing this Common Checkered-Skipper butterfly photo I took two days ago at Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge. This was my last subject of the morning.","rel":"","context":"In "Common Checkered-Skippers"","block_context":{"text":"Common Checkered-Skippers","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/wildlife\/common-checkered-skippers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Common Checkered-Skipper butterfly at Tishomingo NWR, Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/common-checkered-skipper-upright-prairie-coneflower-mia-mcpherson-9831.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/common-checkered-skipper-upright-prairie-coneflower-mia-mcpherson-9831.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/common-checkered-skipper-upright-prairie-coneflower-mia-mcpherson-9831.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/common-checkered-skipper-upright-prairie-coneflower-mia-mcpherson-9831.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":128592,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/05\/16\/green-antelopehorns-in-bloom-at-tishomingo-nwr\/","url_meta":{"origin":129139,"position":3},"title":"Green Antelopehorns In Bloom At Tishomingo NWR","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 16, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Some of the native wildflowers I photographed yesterday morning at Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge were pretty clumps of blooming Green Antelopehorns.","rel":"","context":"In "Green Antelopehorns"","block_context":{"text":"Green Antelopehorns","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/trees-shrubs-and-flowers\/wildflowers\/green-antelopehorns\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Green Antelopehorns at Tishomingo NWR, Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Green-Antelopehorns-Tishomingo-NWR-mia-mcpherson-0145.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Green-Antelopehorns-Tishomingo-NWR-mia-mcpherson-0145.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Green-Antelopehorns-Tishomingo-NWR-mia-mcpherson-0145.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Green-Antelopehorns-Tishomingo-NWR-mia-mcpherson-0145.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":53598,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/08\/15\/colorado-hairstreak-butterfly-photos-from-the-wasatch-mountains\/","url_meta":{"origin":129139,"position":4},"title":"Colorado Hairstreak Butterfly Photos From The Wasatch Mountains","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 15, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"I was photographing birds when I spotted a hairstreak butterfly land right in front of me and took some images of it, I didn't know at the time it was a Colorado Hairstreak butterfly, I found that out later after I got home.","rel":"","context":"In "Colorado Hairstreak Butterflies"","block_context":{"text":"Colorado Hairstreak Butterflies","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/wildlife\/colorado-hairstreak-butterflies\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Colorado Hairstreak Butterfly with wings partially open, Little Emigration Canyon, Morgan County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/colorado-hairstreak-mia-mcpherson-4864.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/colorado-hairstreak-mia-mcpherson-4864.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/colorado-hairstreak-mia-mcpherson-4864.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/colorado-hairstreak-mia-mcpherson-4864.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":129472,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/06\/14\/black-eyed-susan-photos-with-insects\/","url_meta":{"origin":129139,"position":5},"title":"Black-eyed Susan Photos With Insects","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 14, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"When I traveled to Tishomingo recently, I spent some time taking photos of Black-eyed Susans. In the process, I also found insects eating or nectaring on them.","rel":"","context":"In "Black-eyed Susans"","block_context":{"text":"Black-eyed Susans","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/trees-shrubs-and-flowers\/wildflowers\/black-eyed-susans\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Black-eyed Susan with a tiny caterpillar, Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge, Johnston County, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/black-eyed-susan-with-caterpillar-mia-mcpherson-3329.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/black-eyed-susan-with-caterpillar-mia-mcpherson-3329.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/black-eyed-susan-with-caterpillar-mia-mcpherson-3329.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/black-eyed-susan-with-caterpillar-mia-mcpherson-3329.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129139","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129139"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129139\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/129137"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129139"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129139"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129139"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}