 |
 
 |
|
|
|
Nelson's Hairstreak (Callophrys nelsoni [Boisduval])
Wing span: 1 - 1 1/8 inches (2.5 - 2.9 cm).
Identification: Upperside of male is dark brown with rusty orange patches on lower outer edges of wings; female is mostly tawny with dark margins. Underside is brown with a lilac tinge; hindwing postmedian line may be reduced or it is dark and usually outlined in white.
Life history: To seek females, males perch on host trees all day. Eggs are laid singly on tips of host plant leaves, which the caterpillars eat. Chrysalids hibernate.
Flight: One brood from May-July.
Caterpillar hosts: Incense cedar (Calocedrus decurrens), western red-cedar (Thuja plicata).
Adult food: Flower nectar including buckbrush, pussy-paws, and composites.
Habitat: Openings in coniferous forests.
Range: Southern British Columbia and northwest Montana south through Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Nevada to the high-altitude mountains of southern California and Baja California Norte.
Conservation: Not usually of concern.
The Nature Conservancy Global Rank: G4 - Apparently secure globally, though it might be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management needs: None reported.
References:
Emmel, T.C. and J.F. Emmel. 1973. The butterflies of southern California. Natural
History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles. 148 pages.
Garth, J.S. and J.W. Tilden. 1986.California Butterflies. University of California
Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles. 246 pp, 24 plates.
Opler, P.A. 1999. A field guide to western butterflies. Houghton-Mifflin Co.,
Boston, Mass. 540 pages, 44 color plates.
Scott, J. A. 1986. The butterflies of North America. Stanford University Press,
Stanford, Calif. 583 pages, 64 color plates.
Stanford, R. E. and P. A. Opler. 1993. Atlas of western USA butterflies including
adjacent parts of Canada and Mexico. Denver and Fort Collins, CO.
Author: Jane M. Struttmann
State and Regional References:
Brown, J.W., Real, H.G., and D.K. Faulkner. 1992. Butterflies of Baja
California. Lepidoptera Research Foundation, Beverly Hills, Calif.
Comstock, J.A. 1927. Butterflies of California. Privately published, Los
Angeles, Calif. [Facsimile available from Entomological Reprint
Specialists, Los Angeles, Calif.]
Dameron, W. 1997. Searching for butterflies in southern California.
Flutterby Press, Los Angeles, Calif.
Emmel, T.C. Editor. 1998. Systematics of western North American butterflies.
Mariposa Press, Gainesville, Florida.
Emmel, T. C. and J. F. Emmel. 1973. The Butterflies of Southern California.
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County Science Series No. 26.
Garth, J.S. and J.W. Tilden. 1986. California Butterflies. California Natural
History Guide 51. University of California Press, Berkeley and Los
Angeles.
Langston, R.L. 1981. The Rhopalocera of Santa Cruz Island, California. Journal
of Research on the Lepidoptera 18: 24-35.
Miller, Scott E. 1985. Butterflies of the Califorenia Channel Islands. Journal
of the Research on the Lepidoptera 23: 282-296.
Opler, Paul A. 1999. Peterson Field Guide to Western Butterflies, revised
edition. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Mass.
Orsak, L.J. 1977. The Butterflies of Orange County, California. Museum of
Systematic Biology, University of california, Irvine.
Stanford, R.E. and P.A. Opler. 1993. Atlas of Western USA Butterflies.
Privately published, Denver, Colo.
Steiner, J. 1990. Bay Area Butterflies: The Distribution and Natural History
of San Francisco Region Rhopalocera. Hayward, Calif.: Hayward State
University, Masters Thesis.
Tilden, J.W. and A.C. Smith. 1986. A Field Guide to Western Butterflies.
Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Mass.
Tilden, J.W. 1965. Butterflies of the San Francisco Bay Region. California
Natural History Guide 12. University of California Press, Berkeley and
Los Angeles.
|
 1999 -
All Rights Reserved
| |