I had some Red-banded Hairstreak Butterfly photos that I'd taken a couple of years before I found this Gray Hairstreak. They were on my site.

When I found this butterfly, I was very distracted with the Julia's I'd just found close to home, and the Queen that was nectaring in my yard. I snapped a few photos of this one, and moved right back to the larger butterflies. A few weeks later I remembered this butterfly, and I updated the picture on my main butterfly page because these were clearer larger photos, and better than the one I had there. (Excuses, excuses... I didn't pay attention.)

I planned to go back and update the Red-banded Hairstreak page too, but I was working on butterflies that were completely new to my site first. Then I got an email from Tim Adams. He told me that my Red-banded Hairstreak was a Gray Hairstreak.

Now, I remember painstakingly looking up my Red-banded Hairstreak to be sure that's what it was, but I've been wrong before, so I double checked. He was Right! Shock me. Then I went and looked at the Red-banded page again, and I was right. I hadn't paid enough attention to detail when I replaced the photo on my main butterfly page though, it was a Grey Hairstreak, but it linked to my Red-banded Hairstreaks.

This Gray Hairstreak Butterfly is sipping nectar from a Spanish Needles Flower.

At a glance, to the untrained eye (mine), they are similar. I'm very glad Tim noticed though, both because I don't want mistakes on my site, and because I HAD A NEW BUTTERFLY!!! I can't remember ever being giggling happy about being wrong before, but that did it for me! Thanks Tim.

To help you avoid the same confusion, visit my Red-banded or Gray Hairstreak Page where there are photos of both butterflies side by side so you can compare them and learn to tell them apart too.