''Callophrys irus'', the frosted 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 butterfly ...

that is native to North America.

Description

The wingspan ranges from .Frosted Elfin
Butterflies of Canada Hindwings have one short tail. The top side of the wing is brown, males have long oval dark spots on the leading edge of their forewings. The hindwings have submarginal black spots above the tail and below the postmedian line is faint.

Life history

There is one flight period from March to April in the south and in the north it is on wing from mid-May to early June. 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 the pea family ( Fabaceae), indigo (''

Baptisia tinctoria ''Baptisia tinctoria'' (common names include yellow false indigo, wild indigo, wild-indigo and horseflyweed) is a herbaceous perennial plant in the family Fabaceae. It is native to eastern North America. Distribution and habitat ''Baptisia tinc ...

''), lupine ('' Lupinus perennis''), and rattlebox (''

Crotalaria sagittalis ''Crotalaria sagittalis'', known as arrowhead rattlebox or just rattlebox, is an annual wildflower native to the United States, Midwestern and Eastern states. Description Rattlebox grows 6-12" tall with alternate, short-petiolate leaves and ...

'').

Range

They range from local colonies in

Maine Maine () is a U.S. state, state in the New England and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and territories of Canad ...

west across

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, southern

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, and

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

into

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, then south along the Atlantic Coast west into

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a U.S. state, state in the Deep South and South Central United States, South Central regions of the United States. It is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 20th-smal ...

and eastern

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. Within this range they tend to stick to open woods and scrublands. In 2011, zoologists with the

Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation is a department of the government of Virginia; it oversees all Virginia state parks and Natural Area Preserves. History The Virginia State Commission of Conservation and Development was c ...

found populations of the butterfly in the city of Suffolk, Virginia, and a volunteer also found a population at Antioch Pines Natural Area Preserve. The butterfly had not been reported in Virginia since 1994. The species is listed as threatened in

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 19 January 2018.

References

* Callophrys Butterflies of North America Taxa named by Jean-Baptiste Godart Butterflies described in 1824 {{Eumaeini-stub