I have these Red-banded Hairstreak Butterflies in my garden in Palm Beach County. I've never found a caterpillar or chrysalis, but when I get done playing with the caterpillars of butterflies that are easy to find, I'll put more effort into finding one of these so I can add those pictures here too.

These butterflies are very little, and they constantly wiggle their back bottom wings. They remind me of a fly fisher constantly tossing the string across the water, only they're moving the tiny tails through the air instead.

The photo below of the Red-banded Hairstreak Butterfly in my hand shows how tiny they are; just a smidgen larger than my Cassius Blue Butterflies. I got these picture because the butterfly chose to sleep on my porch wall one evening, where I found it after dark. Some butterflies are more docile when they're sleeping, and you can play with them for a bit before they fly off.

I've seen Hairstreak Butterflies nectar on Spanish Needles, Dill, Tassel flower, and Hempweed. They're small enough that unless I'm looking for them, they're easy to overlook. I'll keep my eyes open though, and try to get some better nectar photos. Of course, if there's even a slight breeze moving the plant, with a butterfly this little, it's very hard to get a nice picture, so it might take a little longer than new photos of the other butterflies on my site.

At a glance, it's easy to confuse these butterflies with the Gray Hairstreak Butterflies. Take a look at this page to see them side by side: Red-banded or Gray Hairstreak Page