BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary
Satyrium semiluna
Half-moon Hairstreak
| Scientific Name: | Satyrium semiluna Klots, 1930 | ||||||||||
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| Scientific Name Synonyms: |
Satyrium fuliginosa
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| English Name: | Half-moon Hairstreak | ||||||||||
| English Name Synonyms: |
Sooty Hairstreak
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| 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: | Was Satyrium fuliginosa. The following is an excerpt from the 2006 COSEWIC report (COSEWIC 2006j). "Satyrium semiluna Klots, known until recently as S. fuliginosum (W.H. Edwards, 1861), is a hairstreak butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. Mattoon and Austin (1998) provide a recent taxonomic review and recognize five subspecies in two phenotypically distinct groups. The 'fuliginosum' group was considered to consist of subspecies albolineatum Mattoon and Austin, 1998; fuliginosum, and tildeni Mattoon & Austin, 1998. The 'semiluna' group was considered to consist of subspecies maculadistinctum Mattoon & Austin, 1998 and semiluna Klots, 1930. Recent Canadian literature (Bird et al. 1995, Layberry et al. 1998, Guppy and Shepard 2001) consistently places the Alberta population in the subspecies semiluna. This interpretation is also advanced by Kondla (2003a, 2004b), although the adults are noticeably smaller than individuals from Idaho, southern Montana and Wyoming. Taxonomic placement of the British Columbia populations at the subspecies level is variable in the literature. Layberry et al. (1998) treat these as subspecies fuliginosum while Guppy and Shepard (2001) treat these as subspecies semiluna. Pyle (2002) quotes A. Warren as considering them as a "probably undescribed" subspecies. Kondla (2003b) also considers the British Columbia populations to be an undescribed entity. Recent work by Warren (2005) resulted in the separation of S. semiluna from S. fuliginosa, with S. semiluna being given formal species status. This split is based on the fact that "males from all populations of S. semiluna have forewing stigmata, which vary from being vestigial to well-developed, while males of S. fuliginosa lack any trace of forewing stigmata" (Warren, 2005). The stigmata are patches of specialized scent scales that have recently been shown to be important in mating (D. Lafontaine, pers. comm.). Consequently, the former S. fuliginosa has been divided into two species (Warren, 2005) with true S. fuliginosa restricted to California and S. semiluna found everywhere else (D. Lafontaine, pers. comm.)." (COSEWIC 2006j). |
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| Species Group: | Invertebrate Animal | ||||||||||
| Species Code: | LE-SATSEM | ||||||||||
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| Conservation Status / Legal Designation | |||||||||||
| Global Status: | G4 (Jan 2021) | ||||||||||
| Provincial Status: | S1 (Feb 2020) | ||||||||||
| BC List: | Red | ||||||||||
| Provincial FRPA list: | Y (Jun 2006) | ||||||||||
| Provincial Wildlife Act: | |||||||||||
| COSEWIC Status: | Threatened (Dec 2022) | ||||||||||
| SARA Schedule: | 1 - Endangered | ||||||||||
| General Status Canada: | 6 - Not Assessed (2000) | ||||||||||
| Ecology & Life History | |||||||||||
| General Description: | |||||||||||
| Migration Characteristics: (Global / Provincial) | |||||||||||
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Nonmigrant: Local Migrant: Distant Migrant: Within Borders Migrant: |
N / N N / N N / N na / N |
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| Habitats: (Type / Subtype / Dependence) |
Grassland/Shrub / Antelope-brush Steppe / Obligate
Grassland/Shrub / Grassland / Obligate Grassland/Shrub / Meadow / Obligate Grassland/Shrub / Sagebrush Steppe / Obligate |
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| Food Habits: |
Nectarivore: Adult
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| Global Food Habits Comments: | |||||||||||
| Global Phenology: | |||||||||||
| Provincial Phenology: (1st half of month/ 2nd half of month) |
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| Colonial Breeder: | N | ||||||||||
| Length(cm)/width(cm)/Weight(g): | / / | ||||||||||
| Elevation (m) (min / max): |
Global:
Provincial: |
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| Distribution | |||||||||||
| Endemic: | N | ||||||||||
| Global Range Comment: | This species ranges from extreme southern interior British Columbia, Canada, south to northeastern California, northern Nevada, and east across central Idaho, southwestern Montana, western Wyoming to northern Utah and Colorado, US. | ||||||||||
| Authors / Contributors | |||||||||||
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| References and Related Literature | |||||||||||
B.C. Ministry of Environment. Recovery Planning in BC. B.C. Minist. Environ. Victoria, BC. |
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Bird, C.D., G.I. Hilchie, N.G. Kondla, E.M. Pike, and F.A.H. Sperling. 1995. Alberta Butterflies. The Provincial Museum of Alberta: Edmonton, Alberta. 349 pp. |
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COSEWIC. 2006j. COSEWIC assessment and status report on the Half-moon Hairstreak Satyrium semiluna in Canada. Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada. Ottawa. vi + 26 pp. (www.sararegistry.gc.ca/status/status_e.cfm). |
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Guppy, C.S. and N.G. Kondla. 2000. Status of butterflies and skippers of British Columbia for the National Accord for the Protection of Species at Risk. Prepared for Conservation Data Centre, Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks. 87pp. + MS Excell spreadsheet. |
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Guppy, C.S., and J.H. Shepard. 2001. Butterflies of British Columbia. UBC Press in collaboration with Royal B.C. Mus. 414pp. |
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Kondla, N. 2003. N. Kondla's Lepidoptera observation database. |
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Layberry, R. A., P. W. Hall, and J. D. LaFontaine. 1998. The butterflies of Canada. University of Toronto Press. 280pp. + color plates. |
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Pyle, R.M. 2002. The butterflies of Cascadia: A field guide to all the species of Washington, Oregon, and surrounding territories. Seattle Audubon Society, Seattle, Washington. 420 pp. |
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Scott, J. A. 1986. The Butterflies of North America: A Natural History and Field Guide. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California. |
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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. Species Summary: Satyrium semiluna. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 18, 2026).