Callophrys sheridanii

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Callophrys sheridanii
Callophrys sheridanii 15737 (cropped).JPG
Scientific classification
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Species:
C. sheridanii
Binomial name
Callophrys sheridanii
Synonyms

Callophrys sheridani [2]

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. [3]

Contents

Description

This small, tail-less [4] butterfly has a wingspan of 20–24 millimetres (0.8–0.9 in). [1] The upperside is dark gray brown, with underside color ranging from a bright green to dark gray green. The lower part of the forewing is gray. Callophrys sheridanii has a white postmedian line of dots that may be straight or bulged out, and even reduced or absent. It is named for its characteristic straight, white line crossing the underside of both wings, [4] although this may be less distinct in specimens from southern British Columbia. [1] [5]

Distribution

Although uncommon in Canada, [1] this species is found from southern Alberta east to British Columbia. [4] [6] From British Columbia, the range extends south through Eastern Washington down to the Sierra Nevada of California. From Alberta, the species extends southward through the Rocky Mountains down to New Mexico. [1] [4] [6]

Range and habitat

Callophrys sheridanii remains within a range of approximately 6,000–10,000 feet (1,800–3,000 m), living in such environments as sagebrush scrub, dry, brushy hillsides in badlands, chaparral, woodlands, subalpine scree, open hillsides, and on canyon slopes and washes. [1] [4] [6] [7] [8]

Life history

Females have one brood between April and May. [4] They lay eggs singly on various species of wild buckwheat leaves. The eggs are flattened and hemispherical in shape, and very pale green in color. The larvae range from a green to pink color and feed on buckwheat. [4] The caterpillars are a light green to pink color, and are covered with bunches of short stiff pines. They have two rows of white spots running down the back. They eat the leaves, but some prefer to eat the flowers and young fruits. Chrysalids then hibernate. [1] [6] In Washington, the caterpillars feed on sulphur umbrella plants ( Eriogonum umbellatum ). [1] In adulthood, males perch looking for female mates in depressions or gulch bottoms. The adults drink flower nectar. [6] They take flight between March and June, [1] with specimens from British Columbia flying from mid-April to late May, while specimens in Alberta flying mid-May until late June. [9]

Host plants

Callophrys sheridanii larvae and caterpillars feed on various species of wild buckwheat, including Eriogonum racemosum [1] [10] and Eriogonum heracleoides . [11]

Subspecies

Similar species

All green hairstreaks appear very similar. [4]

Conservation status

Although quite rare in certain parts of its range, conservation is usually not required. [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

Green hairstreak Species of butterfly

The green hairstreak is a small butterfly in the family Lycaenidae.

<i>Callophrys</i> Butterfly genus in 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.

<i>Eriogonum umbellatum</i> Species of wild buckwheat

Eriogonum umbellatum is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name sulphurflower buckwheat, or simply sulphur flower. It is native to western North America from California to Colorado to central Canada, where it is abundant and found in many habitats. This is an extremely variable plant and hard to identify because individuals can look very different from one another. Also, there are a great many varieties. It may be a perennial herb forming a small clump with flowers to 10 centimeters tall, or a sprawling shrub approaching two meters high and wide. The leaves are usually woolly and low on the plant, and the flowers come in many colors from white to bright yellow to purple. Native American groups utilized parts of this plant for a number of medicinal uses.

Sandia hairstreak Species of butterfly

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.

<i>Satyrium titus</i> Species of butterfly

Satyrium titus, the coral hairstreak, is a North American butterfly in the family Lycaenidae.

<i>Callophrys gryneus</i> Species of butterfly

Callophrys gryneus, the juniper hairstreak or olive hairstreak, is a butterfly native to North America. It belongs in the family Lycaenidae.

<i>Chlorostrymon simaethis</i> Species of butterfly

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.

<i>Callophrys dumetorum</i> Species of butterfly

Callophrys dumetorum, the coastal green hairstreak, bramble green hairstreak, or bluish green hairstreak, is butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in the United States in coastal California and rarely in inland California. Subspecies C. d. oregonensis is known as the Oregon green hairstreak.

<i>Speyeria callippe</i> Species of butterfly

Speyeria callippe, the callippe fritillary, is a North American species of butterflies in the brush-footed family Nymphalidae.

<i>Callophrys augustinus</i> Species of butterfly

Callophrys augustinus, the brown elfin, is butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found from Newfoundland north and west through the northern United States and the prairie provinces to Alaska. To the south it ranges in Appalachian Mountains to northern Georgia and northern Alabama, further south through the western mountains to northern Baja California in Mexico. Subspecies iroides is known as the western elfin.

<i>Euphilotes battoides</i> Species of butterfly

Euphilotes battoides, the square-spotted blue or buckwheat blue, is a species of butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in western North America from Washington south to Baja California Norte and then west to southern Colorado and New Mexico.

<i>Lycaena heteronea</i> Species of butterfly

The blue copper, also known as Lycaena heteronea, is an American butterfly that belongs to the gossamer-winged family. It is bright blue in color. The butterfly is named so because of the bright blue hue of the upper side of the wings of males. Females are brown on their upper side, however both sexes have white colored wings on the underside with black spots. Blue coppers are seen on the western coast of the United States and the Southwest region in Canada, particularly British Columbia and Alberta. The males are often confused with Boisduval’s blue, another species of butterfly. Blue coppers prefer to live in areas where species of Eriogonum are found. Blue copper larvae sometimes form mutualistic associations with Formica francoeuri, an ant species.

Callophrys fotis is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae, the gossamer-winged butterflies. It is known by several common names, including early elfin, desert elfin, Fotis hairstreak, Strecker's elfin, and Arizona gray elfin. It is native to the southwestern United States, where it occurs in southeastern California, Nevada, Utah, western Colorado, northern Arizona, and northwestern New Mexico.

<i>Satyrium sylvinum</i> Species of insect

The Sylvan Hairstreak is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in western North America, from British Columbia south-east to Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico and south through California to Baja California Norte.

<i>Satyrium saepium</i> Species of butterfly

Satyrium saepium, the hedgerow hairstreak, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in western North America, from British Columbia south through California into Baja California and east through northern Arizona to northern New Mexico, Colorado and Montana.

Callophrys affinis Species of butterfly

Callophrys affinis, the western green hairstreak or immaculate green hairstreak, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in western Canada and the western United States.

<i>Callophrys xami</i> Species of butterfly

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 hesseli, or Hessel's hairstreak, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It ranges from southern Maine south along the Atlantic coastal plain to northern Florida on the Gulf Coast. The species was first described by George W. Rawson and J. Benjamin Ziegler in 1950. It is listed as endangered in Connecticut by state authorities.

References

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  2. 1 2 "Gossamer-wing Butterflies - Family Lycaenidae". Naba.org. Retrieved 2010-08-02.
  3. "Wyoming State Butterfly, Sheridan's Green Hairstreak, (Callophrys sheridani) from". Netstate.com. Retrieved 2010-08-02.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "FieldGuides: Species Detail". eNature. Archived from the original on 2010-12-03. Retrieved 2010-08-02.
  5. "Butterflies and Skippers of North America - Callophrys sheridani". Nearctica.com. Archived from the original on 2009-10-03. Retrieved 2010-08-02.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Species Detail | Butterflies and Moths of North America". Butterfliesandmoths.org. Archived from the original on 2007-11-17. Retrieved 2010-08-02.
  7. "Atlas of ND Butterflies - Callophrys sheridanii". Npwrc.usgs.gov. 2006-08-16. Retrieved 2010-08-02.
  8. Ross A. Layberry, Peter W. Hall, and J. Donald Lafontaine (1998), The Butterflies of Canada, University of Toronto Press
  9. http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?search=Callophrys+sheridanii&guide=Butterflies&cl=US
  10. "Butterflies listed for El Dorado County". floralore. Archived from the original on January 26, 2010. Retrieved 2010-08-02.
  11. "Utah Butterfly photos, Sheridan's Green Hairstreak, male - Lycaenidae Callophrys sheridani neoperplexa, April 13, 2006 - Taylor's Canyon, Davis County, Utah". Wildutah.us. 2006-04-13. Retrieved 2010-08-02.
  12. "Lycaenidae - Raising Butterflies-How to find and care for butterfly eggs and caterpillars". Raisingbutterflies.org. 1999-02-22. Retrieved 2010-08-02.
  13. "National Atlas of the United States Map Server". Nationalatlas.gov. Archived from the original on 2010-08-19. Retrieved 2010-08-02.
  14. "SF State Sierra Nevada Field campus". Sfsu.edu. Retrieved 2010-08-02.
  15. "Fremont-Winema National Forests - Ecology". Fs.fed.us. 2006-07-19. Retrieved 2010-08-02.
  16. "State of Utah Butterfly Checklist". Utah Bug Club. Archived from the original on 2010-09-25. Retrieved 2010-08-02.

Further reading