''Callophrys affinis'', the western green hairstreak or immaculate green hairstreak, is a

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprise ...

of the family

Lycaenidae Lycaenidae is the second-largest family of butterflies (behind Nymphalidae, brush-footed butterflies), with over 6,000 species worldwide, whose members are also called gossamer-winged butterflies. They constitute about 30% of the known butterf ...

. It is found in western Canada and the western United States. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan o ...

is 20 to 28 mm. Adults are on the wing from early March to mid-June in one generation. The larvae feed on ''

Eriogonum umbellatum ''Eriogonum umbellatum'' is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common name sulphurflower buckwheat, or simply sulphur flower. It is native to western North America from California to Colorado to central Canada, where it is abundant and fou ...

''.

Subspecies

Listed alphabetically:''Callophrys affinis''
at Markku Savela's ''Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms'' *''C. a. affinis'' *''C. a. albipalpis'' Gorelick, 2005 (New Mexico) *''C. a. apama'' Edwards, 1882 – Arizona canyon green hairstreak (Arizona) *''C. a. homoperplexa'' Barnes & Benjamin, 1923 (Colorado) *''C. a. washingtonia'' Clench, 1944 (Washington)

References

Immaculate Green Hairstreak (''Callophrys affinis'') Inventory in the South Okanagan and Boundary Region, British Columbia, 2009 - FINAL
BC Gov., Canada Callophrys Butterflies of North America Butterflies described in 1862 Taxa named by William Henry Edwards {{Eumaeini-stub