HENRY'S ELFIN
This Henry's Elfin butterfly was rubbing his hindwings together, giving us a peek at the orange dorsal surface. Henry's Elfins almost never rest with their wings open.
Henry's Elfins can often be found sipping moisture from damp ground on sunny forest trails.
Notice the prominent white dash on the hindwing. That white mark and the tails make good field marks for this species.
Henry's Elfins fly for only a few weeks in early spring, when their redbud trees are in bloom. Their flight period usually occurs in April (or sometimes early May, if the weather was cold in April).
Henry's Elfin. In our area, these butterflies use redbud trees as host plants. (They use other host plants in different geographic regions, including hollies.) Look for Henry's Elfin butterflies near established groves of redbud trees.
This Henry's Elfin was photographed at Twin Creek MetroPark. Twin Creek, Cox Arboretum, and Germantown MetroPark are three good locations to find these tiny butterflies. Ohio has other species of Elfin butterflies in different parts of the state, but Henry's Elfin is the only one I have seen in the Dayton area.
Some Henry's Elfins have a light dusting of metallic green scales, but the effect is usually subtle.