Description: 8.5-13 mm. Very similar in appearance to Maesites Hairstreak but with a thick silver band over the green base color of the ventral side. Males have blue-purple on top. Females have a dusty blue color. Adults land with wings closed making observation and photography of the dorsal side very difficult.

 

Habitat and Distribution: Tropical hardwood hammocks and disturbed sights where balloon vine grows in the upper Keys, Southern Dade County and also in California, Texas and south through Central and South America.

 

Host Plant: Balloon Vine (Cardiospermum corindum) and (Cardiospermum microcarpum)

 

Natural History: It's always a treat to see this butterfly. I've found them in abundance in Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge in North Key Largo as well as in several sites in Dade County but this species seems to struggle in urban locations where the host plant is abundant. Larvae can be located by looking for frass inside balloon vine seed pods.