Sheridan's Hairstreak

The Sheridan's Hairstreak is a small butterfly that is found in western North America. Their range stretches from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Coast and from Canada to southern California and New Mexico. They are the state butterfly of Wyoming, which is where I photographed this butterfly on a trip to Yellowstone. Usually when we go to Yellowstone it is in May and it is usually still cold and snowy. In 2009 however it was warmer then usual and most of the snow had melted when we arrived at our usual time in May. That year grizzly bears and wolves were not around to photograph, they had already headed up to the higher altitudes, but their were some birds and insects like the Sheridan's hairstreak that we did not usually see. One thing that is strange about the Sheridan's hairstreak is that it does not have the small hair like tail that most hairstreaks have.