Hoary Elfin
Callophrys polios (Cook & Watson, 1907)
Family: Lycaenidae
Subfamily: Theclinae
Identification: No tails. Upperside is orangish brown; underside brown. Forewing with outer margin of "frosted" white; irregular postmedian line is white. Outer half of hindwing is "frosted" light gray.
Wing Span: 7/8 - 1 1/8 inches (2.2 - 2.9 cm).
Life History: Males perch on plants in sunny clearings and low spots to look for females. Eggs are laid singly on leaf buds or flower pedicels. Chrysalids hibernate.
Flight: One flight from April-June.
Caterpillar Hosts: Bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) in the heath family (Ericaceae); probably trailing arbutus (Epigaea repens).
Adult Food: Nectar from flowers including leatherleaf, pyxie, wild strawberry, and willow.
Habitat: Open sunny glades in barrens, rocky ridges, dunes, forest edges, adjacent to bogs.
Range: Very local distribution. Maine south to New Jersey, south in Appalachians to Virginia; west across Great Lakes states and southern prairie provinces; north to Alaska. Along Pacific Coast to northern California; south in Rocky Mountains to northern New Mexico.
Conservation: Not usually required.
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management Needs: None reported.
Comments: NULL
Get your BAMONA Gear!
Please donate!
We depend on donations to keep Butterflies and Moths of North America freely available. We want to express our gratitude to all who showed their support by making a contribution this year. You can donate to support this project at any time.
Advertise with us!
Do you have a product or service that you think would interest BAMONA users? If you would like to advertise on this website, contact us by email, or use the contact form and select the "Advertising" category.
Verified Sightings
Displaying 49 - 72 of 472 verified sightings
Observation date: May 11, 2021
Submitted by: hiker96
Region: Mason County, Washington, United States
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: May 13, 2021
Observation date: May 01, 2021
Submitted by: weflybye
Region: Mason County, Washington, United States
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: May 03, 2021
Observation date: Apr 28, 2021
Submitted by: amparrish15
Region: Lake County, Illinois, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Apr 30, 2021
Observation date: Apr 27, 2021
Submitted by: weflybye
Region: Mason County, Washington, United States
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: Apr 28, 2021
Observation date: Apr 21, 2021
Submitted by: weflybye
Region: Mason County, Washington, United States
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: Apr 21, 2021
Observation date: Apr 08, 2021
Submitted by: weflybye
Region: Mason County, Washington, United States
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: Apr 09, 2021
Observation date: May 31, 2020
Submitted by: J_Martineau
Region: Johnson County, Wyoming, United States
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: Dec 07, 2020
Observation date: Jun 26, 2019
Submitted by: malcolmgold
Region: South Dakota, United States
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: Aug 28, 2020
Observation date: May 25, 2020
Submitted by: jvkopple2
Region: Pennington County, South Dakota, United States
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: Jul 31, 2020
Observation date: May 18, 2014
Submitted by: cjbruchman
Region: Lake County, Illinois, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jul 21, 2020
Observation date: May 29, 2020
Submitted by: A_baldini
Region: Larimer County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: A_baldini
Verified date: Jun 06, 2020
Observation date: May 23, 2020
Submitted by: dbrudin
Region: Teller County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: A_baldini
Verified date: Jun 03, 2020
Observation date: May 08, 2020
Submitted by: razmakat
Region: Spokane County, Washington, United States
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: Jun 01, 2020
Observation date: May 05, 2020
Submitted by: weflybye
Region: Mason County, Washington, United States
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: May 06, 2020
Observation date: Apr 14, 2020
Submitted by: weflybye
Region: Mason County, Washington, United States
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: Apr 16, 2020
Observation date: Jun 04, 2019
Submitted by: stevecary
Region: Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Jan 26, 2020
Observation date: May 25, 2011
Submitted by: Jonathan Batkin
Region: San Miguel County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Jan 19, 2020
Observation date: May 03, 2014
Submitted by: Jonathan Batkin
Region: Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Dec 30, 2019
Observation date: May 12, 2019
Submitted by: A_baldini
Region: Larimer County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: mikefisher
Verified date: Oct 04, 2019
Observation date: Jun 02, 2018
Submitted by: dsperanza
Region: Powell County, Montana, United States
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: Aug 30, 2019
Observation date: May 17, 2017
Submitted by: Craig M Lipski
Region: Iosco County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Aug 08, 2019
Observation date: Jun 07, 2019
Submitted by: jvkopple2
Region: Kalkaska County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Jun 07, 2019
Observation date: Jun 02, 2019
Submitted by: jvkopple2
Region: Kalkaska County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Jun 02, 2019
Observation date: May 17, 2019
Submitted by: jvkopple2
Region: Kalkaska County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: May 30, 2019
- ‹ previous
- 3 of 20
- next ›