About Thecla herodotus (Fabricius, 1793)
Cyanophrys herodotus, commonly known as the tropical green hairstreak or tropical greenstreak, is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. This species was originally described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1793, under the scientific name Thecla herodotus. It is distributed across Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, Nicaragua, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina. Rare stray individuals can be found as far north as southern Texas. Its habitat includes open disturbed areas within tropical and subtropical rainforests and cloudforests, occurring at altitudes between 600 and approximately 2,000 meters. The wingspan of adult butterflies ranges from 22 to 29 millimeters. In southern Texas, adults are active in flight from late May to late October. In Central America and Mexico, adults are on wing year-round. Adult individuals feed on flower nectar. The larvae of this species feed on the leaves and flowers of a variety of shrubs and trees, including Lantana camara, Cornutia grandifolia, Clerodendron paniculatum, Lithraea brasiliensis, Schinus molle, Mangifera indica, and species in the genus Mikania.
