| Juniper hairstreak | |
|---|---|
 | |
| "Olive" juniper hairstreak (C. g. gryneus) | |
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| "Thorne's" juniper hairstreak (C. g. thornei) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Lycaenidae |
| Genus: | Callophrys |
| Species: | C. gryneus |
| Binomial name | |
| Callophrys gryneus (Hübner, [1819]) | |
| Synonyms | |
List
| |
Callophrys gryneus, the juniper hairstreak or olive hairstreak, [1] [2] is a butterfly native to North America. It belongs in the family Lycaenidae.
The juniper hairstreak has many subspecies or races, some of which may even be separate species. The upper side of the "olive" juniper hairstreak (C. g. gryneus) is tawny orange or a bronzy color in males, and blackish brown in females. The underside of the wings is bright green with a variable amount of brown scaling. There are two white postbasal spots and a white zigzag postmedian line edged inward with brown on the hindwing. [2] [3]
"Sweadner's" juniper hairstreak (C. g. sweadneri) is very similar to the gryneus race except the two white postbasal spots are reduced. [3]
The "Siva" juniper hairstreak (C. g. siva) is also similar to the gryneus race. It lacks the postbasal spots, the postmedian line is straight, and some individuals are brown. Intermediates of the gryneus and siva races occur in west Texas and New Mexico. [3] [4]
The underside of "Nelson's" juniper hairstreak (C. g. nelsoni) is brown with a violet sheen; the white postmedian line is faint, sometimes partial or absent; and the postbasal spots are lacking. [3]
"Muir's" juniper hairstreak (C. g. muiri) is similar to the nelsoni race except the underside of the wings are a darker brown with a purplish-greenish tint, and the postmedian line is partial to complete. [3]
The underside of the "Loki" juniper hairstreak (C. g. loki) is green to purplish brown. Inward of the white postmedian line, the hindwing often has a dark band. [3]
"Thorne's juniper hairstreak (C. g. thornei) is quite similar to the loki race except it usually lacks green more often being a violet brown to a brownish gray color. [4]
The Hessel's hairstreak ( Callophrys hesseli ) is the only similar species in the juniper hairstreak's range. The Hessel's hairstreak is similar to the gryneus and sweadneri races. It is often more of a blue-green color, the postmedian line is edged with brown on both sides, and it has a white spot near the fore wing costa. [2]
Another related butterfly species found in North America is Callophrys xami , which is commonly referred to as the xami hairstreak or green hairstreak. Aesthetically, C. gryneus differs significantly from C. xami in regards to the postmedian white line running across the butterfly wings as the juniper species lacks the sharp W mark, a distinctive feature of C. xami butterfly wings, in the postmedian white band. [5]
Habitats include bluffs, open fields, barrens, and dry or rocky open places. They are almost always found near or on junipers in these habitats. [2] [4]
Both sexes visit flowers near the host plant, especially the sweadneri race. [2]
Males are highly territorial on cedar trees, where they perch in search of females. Often, males can be set in flight by gently shaking the trees. Females lay their eggs singly at the tip of host plant leaves. [2] The eggs are pale green with white ridges. [4] The larvae are vivid green with a faint middorsal stripe that begins at the thorax and runs down the abdomen. Whitish-yellow spots occur on either side of the middorsal stripe. A whitish-yellow subspiracular stripe (sometimes broken between segments) runs the length of the body. [6] The chrysalis of the gryneus race is brown to pale brown and is mottled with black with the abdomen being a bit reddish. Chrysalids of western races are dark brown. The juniper hairstreak overwinters as a chrysalis. [4] The gryneus race has two broods per year; sweadneri, two broods per year; siva, two or three broods per year; nelsoni, one brood; muiri, one brood; loki, one or two broods; and the thornei race has one brood per year. [3]
Host plants of the juniper hairstreak:
The green hairstreak is a small butterfly in the family Lycaenidae.
The white-letter hairstreak is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae.
The black hairstreak is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae.
The genus Callophrys consists of butterflies in the family Lycaenidae. It is apparently not monophyletic, but which of the taxa currently considered junior synonyms of Callophrys are valid genera remains to be determined.
The Sandia hairstreak is a species of butterfly native to North America. A relatively rare butterfly with a limited range, it was discovered in La Cueva Canyon, Albuquerque, in spring of 1958, by Noel McFarland, then a student at the University of Kansas, and described the following year. The Sandia hairstreak was made one of the state insects of New Mexico in a 2002 bill approved the following year.
Euptoieta claudia, the variegated fritillary, is a North and South American butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. Even though the variegated fritillary has some very different characteristics from the Speyeria fritillaries, it is still closely related to them. Some of the differences are: variegated fritillaries have two or three broods per year vs. one per year in Speyeria; they are nomadic vs. sedentary; and they use a wide range of host plants vs. just violets. And because of their use of passionflowers as a host plant, variegated fritillaries also have taxonomic links to the heliconians. Their flight is low and swift, but even when resting or nectaring, this species is extremely difficult to approach, and, because of this, its genus name was taken from the Greek word euptoietos meaning "easily scared".
Euptoieta hegesia, the Mexican fritillary, is a North and South American butterfly in the family Nymphalidae.
Callophrys henrici, the Henry's elfin or woodland elfin, is a North American butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. In Canada it is found from southern Manitoba to southern Nova Scotia. It has two main groups of populations in the United States; the first is found along the Atlantic Coast and uses various hollies (Ilex) as host plants; and the second is found mainly in the north and the Appalachians where they use redbud as a host plant. Henry's elfin is increasing in New England because of an introduced buckthorn it now uses as a host plant. It is listed as a species of special concern in the US state of Connecticut.
Chlorostrymon simaethis, the silver-banded hairstreak, is a North and South American butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is also known as St. Christopher's hairstreak and the Key lime hairstreak.
Callophrys sheridanii, the Sheridan's hairstreak and Sheridan's green hairstreak, is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found in North America along the south coast of British Columbia and parts of Nevada, Arizona, Saskatchewan, North Dakota, and New Mexico. In 2009, this species was adopted as the U.S. state butterfly for Wyoming.
Callophrys spinetorum, the thicket hairstreak, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It was described by William Chapman Hewitson in 1867. It is found in North America from British Columbia through the Rocky Mountains to New Mexico and Mexico and through California to Baja California. The habitat consists of pinyon-juniper forests, mixed woodlands, and coniferous forests.
Callophrys xami, commonly referred to as the xami hairstreak or green hairstreak, is a butterfly included in the subgenus Xamia and the genus Callophrys in the family Lycaenidae. It was described by Tryon Reakirt in 1867. Other common names for this species, depending on the region, include green hairstreak and elfin. C. xami is considered to be a very rare species of butterfly, and its typical range is in southern Arizona and Texas including down south to Guatemala. The juniper hairstreak and the silver-banded hairstreak butterflies are similar species, but both differ significantly from C. xami in regards to the postmedian white line running across the butterfly wings.
Callophrys avis, the Chapman's green hairstreak is a small butterfly found in the Palearctic that belongs to the blues family. The males and females of this little butterfly are identical. The underside of the wings is green, the upperside is greyish brown. The green verso is marked by a mediodiscal white line that differentiates this species from Callophrys rubi. The larva feeds on Coriaria myrtifolia, Arbutus unedo, Salvia verbenaca, Viburnum tinus.