BUTTERFLIES ON ABACO (5): THE UNUSUAL MARTIAL SCRUB-HAIRSTREAK
I wish I could tell you something useful about this butterfly, but frankly there’s not a lot of info about it to be found. In part that may be because it is not a mainstream American butterfly, being found only in southern Florida. However it is found in the West Indies, and indeed on Abaco – this one was photographed by Nina Henry at Little Harbour. She was walking from Pete’s Pub to the OLD LIGHTHOUSE when she came across this butterfly. She sent it to me as a query and it took me an hour to nail the ID – there are other very similar and more common hairstreaks that threw me off track for a while (I thought it might be a female… oh, ever mind, it wasn’t).
The Martial Scrub-Hairstreak Strymon martialis ranges from the southern tip of Florida, throughout the Bahamas and Greater Antilles. I’ve never seen one on Abaco, and I’d be very interested to hear from anyone who has. As far as I can make out this creature’s range tends to be further south, so I’m guessing they are unusual for Abaco. Prove me wrong!
Photo Credit: Nina Henry
ROLLING HARBOUR ABACO 
new to me and lovely! thanx for posting~
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New to me too, and a threatened rarity. Nice to know they are on Abaco. It’s a relatively wild island so maybe there are more. I’m hoping for sighting news! RH
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Wow, it looks so much like the Bartram’s Hairstreak, which is also threatened. It’s always thrilling to spot any rare butterfly but getting a great photo of it is extra special.
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Quite right, and the Bartram’s (or ‘Caribbean’) was the first apparent match I came across. Almost a ringer, except for the Bartram’s pair of white dots on the wings, and some less obvious details. I spent some time on a false track checking about variables like sex, age, time of year to explain the differences. At last by chance I came across a Martial online, mis-spelled as “Marshall” Scrub-Hairstreak, and the problem was solved…
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