Butterflies are loved by so many. Most people know little about butterflies, and maybe, maybe can name one or two of them. It’s fascinating to ponder why we graduate so many students from our school systems and private schools, with often zero familiarity with these utterly wonderful insects, often living on their own street, in their own yard.

Ask those who know and seek butterflies to name those that they especially hold to their heart, and time and time again, this one will be named, the Coral Hairstreak butterfly.

They fly in about 47 states in the United States and are often scarce and hard to locate. I don’t see them every year, fact of the matter is I often don’t see them for several years, making them a rare butterfly. How do many of us time our field work to see Corals? They LOVE Butterflyweed, a milkweed ( an Asclepias ) and when milkweed is in bloom where you are, the best time to see Corals is when the milkweed has just opened its gorgeous flowers, when they are fresh and vibrant.

I don’t Photoshop my images, this is a tad dark, but the elegance of the Coral Hairstreak surely can be seen. I’ve been to Sotheby’s, Christies, Doyle, 47th Street, etc.. Those coral orangish/reddish patches on the right hindwing so closely resemble coral, a very, very valuable gemstone. They evoke such memories of my wife Frieda A”H and her love for coral and fine jewelry. Yes, it gets personal . . .

This Coral was resting on a leaf in the early morning in Lynx Prairie Reserve in Adams County, Ohio, that June morning. Hard to find yes, but know that a short distance away, there was luxurious Butterflyweed . . . calling out the siren’s song to . . .

Jeff