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Butterflies of North America

Butterflies of New York

Hessel's Hairstreak (Callophrys [Mitoura] hesseli)

Hessel's Hairstreak (Callophrys hesseli [Rawson & Ziegler])

Wing span: 1 - 1 1/8 inch (2.5 - 2.8 cm).

Identification: Two tails on hindwing. Underside blue-green; white spots surrounded by patches of red-brown. Forewing's costal white spot is set inward of the other spots in postmedian row.

Life history: Males perch at tops of host trees to seek receptive females. Eggs are laid singly on terminal growth of host tree; caterpillars eat new growth and older foliage. Chrysalids hibernate.

Flight: One flight in late May in New England, two flights from April-July in the south.

Caterpillar hosts: Atlantic white-cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides) in the family Cupressaceae.

Adult food: Nectar from flowers including swamp milkweed, shadbush, sand myrtle, sweet pepperbush, highbush blueberry, buttonbush, and dogbane.

Habitat: Coastal plains swamps and stream banks, associated barrens.

Range: Southern Maine south along the Atlantic coastal plain to northern Florida on the Gulf Coast.

Conservation: Most populations are small and local. All are worthy of being conserved.

The Nature Conservancy Global Rank: G3 - Very rare or local throughout its range or found locally in a restricted range (21 to 100 occurrences). (Threatened throughout its range).

Management needs: Maintain different successional stages of white-cedar swamps and prevent loss of white-cedar stands.

References:


Opler, P. A. and G. O. Krizek. 1984. Butterflies east of the  Great Plains. Johns 

    Hopkins University Press, Baltimore. 294 pages, 54 color plates.



Opler, P. A. and V. Malikul. 1992. A field guide to eastern  butterflies. Peterson 

    field guide #4. Houghton-Mifflin Co.,  Boston. 396 pages, 48 color plates.



Scott, J. A. 1986. The butterflies of North America. Stanford  University Press, 

    Stanford, Calif. 583 pages, 64 color plates.

Author: Jane M. Struttmann

State and Regional References:


Cech, R. 1993.  A Distributional Checklist of the Butterflies and Skippers of 

     the New York City Area (50-mile Radius) and Long Island.  New York City 

     Butterfly Club Special Publication.  27 pp.



Forbes, W.T.M.  1960.  Lepidoptera of New York and Neighboring States.  Part 

     IV: Agaristidae through Nymphalidae Including Butterflies.  Cornell Univ. 

     Agricultural Experimental Station, Ithaca, N.Y.  Memoir 371.  188 pp.



Glassberg,  J.  1993.  Butterflies Through Binoculars: A Field Guide to 

     Butterflies in the Boston-New York-Washington Region.  Oxford Univ. Press, 

     New York, N.Y.  160 pp. 



Klass, C. and Dirig, R.  1992.  Learning about Butterflies.  Cornell Cooperative 

     Extension Publication, 4-H Member/Leader Guide 139-M-9.  Ithaca, N.Y.  

     36 pp.



Layberry, R.A., Hall, P.W. & Lafontaine, D.J., 1998.  The Butterflies of 

     Canada.  University of Toronto Press, Toronto, ON.  280 pp.

     

Opler, P.A. 1998. A field guide to eastern butterflies, revised format.

     Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.      



Shapiro, A.M.  1974.  Butterflies and Skippers of New York State.  Cornell Univ.

     Agricultural Experimental Station, Ithaca, N.Y.  Search 4:1-60.   

Hessel's Hairstreak (Callophrys [Mitoura] hesseli)
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