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Callophrys sheridanii Billberg, 1820
Green Hairstreaks; Sheridan's Hairstreak
Family: Lycaenidae (Gossamer Wings)
Species account authors: Crispin Guppy and Jon Shepard.
Extracted from Butterflies of British Columbia.
Introduction to the Lepidoptera of BC
Introduction to the Butterflies of BC
The Families of Lepidoptera of BC

Photograph

© Norbert Kondla     (Photo ID #74020)

Map

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Distribution of Callophrys sheridanii in British Columbia.
(Click on the map to view a larger version.)
Source: Butterflies of British Columbia by Crispin Guppy and Jon Shepard © Royal BC Museum

Species Information


Adult

For Sheridan's Hairstreak, the undersides of the wings have a green ground colour. The ventral hindwing has a median row of white spots arranged in a straight line. The line of white spots is usually fused into one line, narrower in high-elevation populations and wider but often discontinuous in low-elevation populations, but always arranged in a straight line. The ground colour of the upperside of the wings is grey brown in both sexes.

Immature Stages

Unknown.

Subspecies

BC populations are assigned to the subspecies C.s. newcomeri Clench, 1963 (TL: Mill Cr., Yakima Co., WA). We believe that the Washington butterfly atlas (Hinchliff 1996) and Clench (1963) misapplied the name neoperplexa Barnes & McDunnough, 1923 (TL: Eureka, UT) for Washington. Hopfinger, who was the source of Clench's original record, was notorious for labelling specimens "Brewster" when he collected allover the western half of Okanogan County in Washington. Clench's use of the name neoperplexa fits the high-elevation populations in northern Washington and southern BC, and those populations do not deserve sub-specific recognition.

Genus Description


The name Callophrys may be derived from the Greek kallos (beautiful) and ophrys (eyebrow). This likely refers to green scales on the eye (Emmet 1991). The common name refers to the green colour of the hindwings (Holland 1898).

This genus and the following three genera, Loranthomitoura, Mitoura, and Incisalia, are morphologically similar. Some authorities insist on combining them in one genus, Callophrys. Ballmer and Pratt (1992b) detail the anatomy of first instar larvae of these genera and show that this is a natural grouping but that the genera are separate. For all four, the male aedeagus is flared at the tip but lacks the ventral keel present in the genus Satyrium. There are two cornuti, both of which are dentate. The pair of valves are parallel along their entire length instead of divergent at the ends as in Satyrium. For all members of the genus Callophrys, the underside of the hindwing is some shade of green with a strong to weak white median line. The hindwings lack tails. The tips of the valves are not capped as in Incisalia, and the cornuti are slender. The genus is Holarctic, with at least seven species (Tilden 1963); two are found in BC (Clench 1963). The larvae of all BC members of this genus feed on buckwheat plants, Eriogonum spp.

Biology


Sheridan's Hairstreak emerges two to three weeks before the Immaculate Green Hairstreak at the lower elevations where both occur. At these lower elevations it flies from mid-April to mid-May. For the higher-elevation (1,500-2,200 m) populations, the adults are active from late June to late July. Eggs hatch shortly after being placed on the foodplant and the larval development is very quick. The larvae usually begin feeding on the flowers and then shift to young leaves, presumably because that part of the plant is tender, although toxins in older leaves have not been ruled out. The butterfly is in the pupal stage by June and overwinters as such. Hiruma et al. (1997) demonstrated that the pupa needs a period of 4°C exposure for adults to emerge. They also showed that 65% emerged within eight days when the temperature increased to early spring norms. The remaining individuals emerged over a prolonged period of 200 days. This staggered emergence is probably what accounts for the long adult flight of this species and other species in related genera.

Habitat


Sheridan's Hairstreak is found from Botanie Mountain near Lytton and Manning Provincial Park east to the AB border. The populations occur in two distinct habitats where the larval foodplant, Eriogonum, is found. At low elevations Sheridan's Hairstreak is found flying in the same habitat as the Immaculate Green Hairstreak, but it is more common and is also found at Eriogonum patches where the Immaculate Green Hairstreak is not found. Sheridan's Hairstreak is also found at 1,500-2,200 m on dry southern exposures where Eriogonum is found. Populations occurring in low valleys are reduced or lost, but high-elevation populations are stable.

Distribution

Distribution

Sheridan's Hairstreak ranges from southern BC and the Rockies of southern AB south to central CA and NM.

Status Information

Origin StatusProvincial StatusBC List
(Red Blue List)		COSEWIC
NativeS4YellowNot Listed



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