Callophrys spinetorum
| Thicket hairstreak | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Lycaenidae |
| Genus: | Callophrys |
| Species: | C. spinetorum
|
| Binomial name | |
| Callophrys spinetorum (Hewitson, 1867)
| |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Callophrys spinetorum, the thicket hairstreak, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It was described by William Chapman Hewitson in 1867. It is found in North America from British Columbia through the Rocky Mountains to New Mexico and Mexico and through California to Baja California.[1] The habitat consists of pinyon-juniper forests, mixed woodlands, and coniferous forests.[2]
The wingspan is 25–32 mm. Adults are on wing from May to August in one generation per year. They feed on flower nectar.
The larvae are specialists, feeding on the shoots, flowers, and fruit of dwarf mistletoes in the genus Arceuthobium.[3][4] In particular, larvae have been documented feeding on A. campylopodum, A. occidentale, A. abietinum, A. blumeri, A. cyanocarpum, A. laricis, A. vaginatum subsp. cryptopodum, A. divaricatum, and A. globosum.[4] The larvae resemble their host plants, both because of their segmented bodies and because they take on the color of their food, an example of mimicry.[4]
Subspecies
- Callophrys spinetorum spinetorum (California, Colorado)
- Callophrys spinetorum millerorum Clench, 1981 (New Mexico)
References
- ^ Callophrys spinetorum, at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
- ^ "NatureServe Explorer 2.0". explorer.natureserve.org.
- ^ "Thicket Hairstreak Callophrys spinetorum (Hewitson, 1867) | Butterflies and Moths of North America". www.butterfliesandmoths.org.
- ^ a b c Stevens, Robert; Hawksworth, Frank (September 1970). "Insects and Mites Associated with Dwarf Mistletoes". USDA Forest Service Research Paper. RM–59.