''Callophrys henrici'', the Henry's elfin or woodland elfin,
[James A. Scott (1986). ''The Butterflies of North America''. Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA. ] is a North American
butterfly
Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...
in 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 butterfl ...
. In Canada it is found from southern
Manitoba
Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...
to southern
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
.
[Henry's Elfin]
Butterflies of Canada It has two main groups of populations in the United States; the first is found along the Atlantic Coast and uses various hollies (''
Ilex
''Ilex'' (), or holly, is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family (biology), family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The speci ...
'') as host plants; and the second is found mainly in the north and the Appalachians where they use redbud (''
Cercis canadensis
''Cercis canadensis'', the eastern redbud, is a large deciduous shrub or small tree, native to eastern North America from southern Michigan south to central Mexico, east to New Jersey. Species thrive as far west as California and as far north as ...
'') as a host plant. Henry's elfin is increasing in New England because of an introduced buckthorn (''
Rhamnus cathartica
''Rhamnus cathartica'', the European buckthorn, common buckthorn, purging buckthorn, or just buckthorn, is a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Rhamnaceae. It is native to Europe, northwest Africa and western Asia, from the cen ...
'') it now uses as a host plant.
[Rick Cech and Guy Tudor (2005). ''Butterflies of the East Coast''. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ. ] It is listed as a species of special concern in the US state of
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
.
"Connecticut's Endangered, Threatened and Special Concern Species 2015"
State of Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Bureau of Natural Resources. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
Description
The upperside of the wings is a dark brown color. The underside of the wings is strongly two toned with the basal area being dark brown black.[ The hindwing postmedian line has white at both ends.][Jim P. Brock and Kenn Kaufman (2003). ''Butterflies of North America''. Houghton Mifflin, New York, NY. ] The outer edge of the hindwing is frosted and the outer edge of the forewing is sometimes green toned. The hindwing has tails that are short and stubby. In the southeast, these tails are longer. The male lacks a stigma.[ Henry's elfin's wingspan measures ][Ernest M. Shull (1987). ''The Butterflies of Indiana''. Indiana Academy of Science. ]
Similar species
Similar species in the Henry's elfin's range include the frosted elfin (''Callophrys irus
''Callophrys irus'', the frosted elfin, is a species of Lycaenidae that is native to North America.
Description
The wingspan ranges from . ''), the brown elfin (''Callophrys augustinus
''Callophrys augustinus'', the brown elfin, is butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found from Newfoundland north and west through the northern United States and the prairie provinces to Alaska. To the south it ranges in Appalachian Mountain ...
''), and the hoary elfin ('' Callophrys polios'').
The frosted elfin is slightly larger, males have a stigma, the underside of the hindwing has more frosting, and there is usually a dark spot near the hindwing outer margin.[
The brown elfin is more reddish brown, males have a stigma, it lacks hindwing tails, and the underside of the hindwing has no frosting.][
The hoary elfin is smaller, males have a stigma, it lacks hindwing tails, the underside of the hindwing outer margin is completely frosted, and the forewing outer margin is also frosted.][
]
Habitat
Henry's elfin can be found in a wide range of habitats such as barrens, coastal holly forests, open woodlands, mesquite woodlands, etc.[
]
Flight
This butterfly may be encountered from early May to early June in the north[ and March to April in the south.][
]
Life cycle
Males perch at about human eye level to await females.[(Males will sometimes perch high in tree tops or will perch very low to the ground.) Females lay their ]eggs
Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...
singly on the host plant flower buds or on host plant leaves near the buds. The eggs are pale green but turn a whitish color before hatching.[ The ]larva
A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle.
The ...
is quite variable. It varies from greenish yellow to red brown to maroon.[David L. Wagner (2005). ''Caterpillars of Eastern North America''. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ. ] It has subdorsal spots that may be white, yellow, green, or red green and has a lateral stripe which may be yellow or a reddish color.[Thomas J. Allen, Jim P. Brock and Jeffrey Glassberg (2005). ''Caterpillars in the Field and Garden''. Oxford University Press, New York, NY. ] Some individuals have a faint yellow or reddish middorsal stripe.[ The ]pupa
A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...
is orange brown and is mottled with a dark brown-black color.[ The pupa ]hibernate
Hibernation is a state of minimal activity and metabolic depression undergone by some animal species. Hibernation is a seasonal heterothermy characterized by low body-temperature, slow breathing and heart-rate, and low metabolic rate. It most ...
s in leaf litter.[ Henry's elfin has one ]brood
Brood may refer to:
Nature
* Brood, a collective term for offspring
* Brooding, the incubation of bird eggs by their parents
* Bee brood, the young of a beehive
* Individual broods of North American Periodical Cicadas:
** Brood X, the largest b ...
per year.[
]
Host plants
Host plants used by Henry's elfin:
* Redbud, ''Cercis canadensis
''Cercis canadensis'', the eastern redbud, is a large deciduous shrub or small tree, native to eastern North America from southern Michigan south to central Mexico, east to New Jersey. Species thrive as far west as California and as far north as ...
''
* Dahoon holly, ''Ilex cassine
''Ilex cassine'' is a holly native to the southeastern coast of North America, in the United States from Virginia to southeast Texas, in Mexico in Veracruz, and in the Caribbean on the Bahamas, Cuba, and Puerto Rico. It is commonly known as dahoo ...
''
* American holly, ''Ilex opaca
''Ilex opaca'', the American holly, is a species of holly, native to the eastern and south-central United States, from coastal Massachusetts south to central Florida, and west to southeastern Missouri and eastern Texas.
Description
''Ilex opaca ...
''
* Yaupon holly, ''Ilex vomitoria
''Ilex vomitoria'', commonly known as yaupon () or yaupon holly, is a species of holly that is native to southeastern North America. The word ''yaupon'' was derived from the Catawban ''yą́pą'', from ''yą-'' tree + ''pą'' leaf. Another comm ...
''
* Black buckthorn, ''Rhamnus frangula
''Frangula alnus'', commonly known as alder buckthorn, glossy buckthorn, or breaking buckthorn, is a tall deciduous shrub in the family Rhamnaceae. Unlike other "buckthorns", alder buckthorn does not have thorns. It is native to Europe, northern ...
''[
* Mexican buckeye '']Ungnadia speciosa
''Ungnadia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Sapindaceae containing one species, ''Ungnadia speciosa'', the Mexican buckeye. It is native to northern Mexico, as well as Texas and southern New Mexico in the United States. The name ho ...
''
*Vaccinium
''Vaccinium'' is a common and widespread genus of shrubs or dwarf shrubs in the heath family (Ericaceae). The fruits of many species are eaten by humans and some are of commercial importance, including the cranberry, blueberry, bilberry (whort ...
species
*Viburnum
''Viburnum'' is a genus of about 150–175 species of flowering plants in the moschatel family Adoxaceae. Its current classification is based on molecular phylogeny. It was previously included in the honeysuckle family Caprifoliaceae.
The membe ...
species, including Maple-leaf viburnum, ''Viburnum acerifolium
''Viburnum acerifolium'', the mapleleaf viburnum, maple-leaved arrowwood or dockmackie, is a species of ''Viburnum'', native to eastern North America from southwestern Quebec and Ontario south to northern Florida and eastern Texas. It is adapted ...
''[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Callophrys Henrici
henrici
The surname Henrici is the possessive form of the Latin language, Latin name "Henricus", i.e. "Henry (given name), Henry".
Henrici may refer to:
* Christian Friedrich Henrici, known as Picander (1700–1764), German poet and librettist
* Cornelius ...
Butterflies of North America
Butterflies described in 1819
Taxa named by Augustus Radcliffe Grote