Bug FAQGold-bordered Hairstreak
Rekoa palegon · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Lycaenidae
The gold-bordered hairstreak is a small butterfly with a wingspan of about 23 to 28 mm. It lives from Argentina up through Mexico and the West Indies, and a rare stray has been seen in southern Texas. Adults feed on flower nectar, while the larvae eat a variety of plants, especially those in the Asteraceae family.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Rekoa palegon, known as the gold-bordered hairstreak, belongs to the Lycaenidae family of butterflies.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Its wingspan ranges from 23 to 28 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It is found from Argentina northward to Mexico and the West Indies. A rare stray has been recorded in southern Texas.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Adults sip nectar from flowers such as Senecio and Eupatorium species. Larvae feed on many plants, especially those in the Asteraceae family.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its native range extends from Argentina through Mexico to the West Indies. Occasionally it appears as a stray in southern Texas.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 1 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Texas.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
Where might I see a gold-bordered hairstreak?
You can find it from Argentina up to Mexico and the West Indies, and occasionally a stray shows up in southern Texas.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Lycaenidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rekoa_palegon
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.