''Callophrys niphon'', the eastern pine elfin, is a species of
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 butterfl ...
that is native to North America.
Description
It is similar to the
western pine elfin but has two dark bars instead of one in the forewing underside cell with strong patterning on the underside. The wingspan ranges from .
[EasternPine Elfin]
Butterflies of Canada
Life history
There is one flight from March to April in the south, while it occurs between mid-May and early June in the north.
[ Females will lay eggs singly on flower buds. The caterpillars eat both the flower and the developing seedpods. Chrysalids hibernate in loosely formed cocoons beneath litter below the plant. Larval foods include jack pine ('']Pinus banksiana
Jack pine (''Pinus banksiana'') is an eastern North American pine. Its native range in Canada is east of the Rocky Mountains from the Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territories to Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, and the north-central and ...
'') and white pine (''Pinus strobus
''Pinus strobus'', commonly called the eastern white pine, northern white pine, white pine, Weymouth pine (British), and soft pine is a large pine native to eastern North America. It occurs from Newfoundland, Canada west through the Great Lake ...
'').[
]
Range
They range across most of the eastern United States and the southern parts of the provinces of Canada.[ Within this range they tend to sandy areas with pine trees.][
]
References
Callophrys
Butterflies of North America
Butterflies described in 1823
Taxa named by Jacob Hübner
{{Eumaeini-stub