BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary
Callophrys affinis
Immaculate Green Hairstreak
| Scientific Name: | Callophrys affinis (W.H. Edwards, 1862) | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Name: | Immaculate Green Hairstreak | ||||||||||
| Classification / Taxonomy | |||||||||||
| Scientific Name - Concept Reference: | Pelham, J. P. 2008. A catalogue of the butterflies of the United States and Canada with a complete bibliography of the descriptive and systematic literature. The Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera. Volume 40. 658 pp. Revised 14 February, 2012. | ||||||||||
| Classification Level: | Species | ||||||||||
| Taxonomy Comments: | CALLOPHRYS AFFINIS WASHINTONIA is the only subspecies found in BC. | ||||||||||
| Species Group: | Invertebrate Animal | ||||||||||
| Species Code: | LE-CALAFF | ||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
| Conservation Status / Legal Designation | |||||||||||
| Global Status: | G4 (Aug 2022) | ||||||||||
| Provincial Status: | S2S3 (Jan 2020) | ||||||||||
| BC List: | Blue | ||||||||||
| Provincial FRPA list: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Wildlife Act: | |||||||||||
| COSEWIC Status: | |||||||||||
| SARA Schedule: | |||||||||||
| General Status Canada: | 6 - Not Assessed (2000) | ||||||||||
| Ecology & Life History | |||||||||||
| General Description: | |||||||||||
| Subspecies Comments: | Two subspecies of Callophrys affinis are recognized, C.a.washingtonia and C.a.affinis. Populations in BC (Canada) are C.a.washingtonia (Guppy and Shepard 2001). This species is part of a larger complex of affinis subspecies (two to seven species) that are thought to hybridize in some areas and not in others (Layberry et al. 1998). | ||||||||||
| Identification Comments: | The dorsal wing surfaces of C.a.washingtonia are green with a median row of oblong white spots. The wing uppersides are grey and the wing undersides are a bright greenish yellow (Layberry et al. 1998). The hind wings are tailless and the wingspan is 20 - 28 mm (Layberry et al. 1998). The caterpillars are an overall green or red colour, with a white line down the back of the caterpillar and ridges across each segment (Layberry et al. 1998). | ||||||||||
| Provincial Reproduction Comments: | Males are known to return to the same perch after being disturbed (Layberry et al. 1998). | ||||||||||
| Provincial Ecology Comments: | Callophrys affinis records show a flight period between March and June; earlier flight dates depending on the beginning of spring weather (Guppy and Shepard 2001). | ||||||||||
| Migration Characteristics: (Global / Provincial) | |||||||||||
|
Nonmigrant: Local Migrant: Distant Migrant: Within Borders Migrant: |
N / Y N / N N / N na / N |
||||||||||
| Provincial Mobility & Migration Comments: | Callophrys affinis is not known to fly far from its foodplant and when disturbed and males will often return to the same original perch (Layberry et al. 1998). | ||||||||||
| Habitats: (Type / Subtype / Dependence) |
Grassland/Shrub / Antelope-brush Steppe / Obligate
Grassland/Shrub / Grassland / Obligate Grassland/Shrub / Meadow / Obligate Grassland/Shrub / Sagebrush Steppe / Obligate Rock/Sparsely Vegetated Rock / Rock/Sparsely Vegetated Rock / Obligate |
||||||||||
| Global Habitat Comments: | Sagelands, often in lower mountains and plateaus. Larval host is Eriogonum umbellatum. Opler (1999) states "open, sunny slopes and low vegetation in many landforms and ecosystems, including sand dunes, chaparral, brush and pine forest opening." | ||||||||||
| Provincial Habitat Comments: | Callophrys affinis is known to occur in dry gullies (Guppy and Shepard 2001) within sagebrush and meadow habitats (Layberry et al. 1998), brushland, woods and scrub. | ||||||||||
| Food Habits: |
Herbivore:Immature
Nectarivore: Adult |
||||||||||
| Global Food Habits Comments: | Caterpillar Hosts: Various Eriogonum, Lotus, and Ceanothus species. Adult Food: Flower nectar (Lotts and Naberhaus 2017). | ||||||||||
| Provincial Food Habits Comments: | Callophrys affinis caterpillars feed upon plants in the buckwheat family, Erigonium spp.; mainly Parsnip-flowered Buckwheat (Eriogonum heracleoides, Polygonaceae) (Dennis St.John, pers. comm. In Layberry et al. 1998). | ||||||||||
| Global Phenology: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Phenology: (1st half of month/ 2nd half of month) |
Jan: / Pupae or prepupae present
Feb: / Pupae or prepupae present Mar: / Active Apr: / Active May: Active / Active June: Active / Active July: Pupae or prepupae present / Pupae or prepupae present Aug: Larvae present and active / Pupae or prepupae present Sept: Larvae present and active / Pupae or prepupae present Oct: Pupae or prepupae present / Pupae or prepupae present Nov: Pupae or prepupae present / Pupae or prepupae present Dec: Pupae or prepupae present / Pupae or prepupae present |
||||||||||
| Provincial Phenology Comments: | Adults fly from March through early June (Layberry et al. 1998; Guppy and Shepard 2001). It is unknown whether the species overwinters as a pupa or as a larvae that continues feeding again in the spring (Guppy and Shepard 2001). | ||||||||||
| Colonial Breeder: | N | ||||||||||
| Length(cm)/width(cm)/Weight(g): | / / | ||||||||||
| Elevation (m) (min / max): |
Global:
Provincial: 0 / 700 |
||||||||||
| Distribution | |||||||||||
| Endemic: | N | ||||||||||
| Global Range Comment: | This species occurs across much of the western USA from the Rocky Mountain states west, extending north to British Columbia, Canada, and south to extreme northern Baja California, Mexico. | ||||||||||
| Authors / Contributors | |||||||||||
| Global Information Author: | |||||||||||
| Last Updated: | May 15, 2001 | ||||||||||
| Provincial Information Author: | Heron, J. | ||||||||||
| Last Updated: | Sep 10, 2007 | ||||||||||
| References and Related Literature | |||||||||||
Guppy, C.S., and J.H. Shepard. 2001. Butterflies of British Columbia. UBC Press in collaboration with Royal B.C. Mus. 414pp. |
|||||||||||
Layberry, R. A., P. W. Hall, and J. D. LaFontaine. 1998. The butterflies of Canada. University of Toronto Press. 280pp. + color plates. |
|||||||||||
Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.
Suggested Citation:
B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 2001. Species Summary: Callophrys affinis. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 5, 2026).