''Callophrys mossii'', commonly known as Moss's elfin, stonecrop elfin or Schryver's elfin, is a species of butterfly native to North America in the family

Lycaenidae Lycaenidae is the second-largest family (biology), 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 ...

. It is found from

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

south to southern

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

and east to

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

and

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

in isolated populations. The habitat consists of rocky outcrops, woody canyons and cliffs. The

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

is 22–28 mm. Adults are on wing from March to June in one generation per year. The larvae feed on ''

Sedum ''Sedum'' is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Crassulaceae, members of which are commonly known as stonecrops. The genus has been described as containing up to 600 species, subsequently reduced to 400–500. They are leaf succule ...

'' (including '' S. spathulifolium'' and '' S. lanceolatum''), '' Sedella'', ''

Dudleya ''Dudleya'', commonly known as liveforevers, is a genus of rosette-forming succulent plants in the stonecrop family, Crassulaceae, consisting of about 68 taxa in southwestern North America and Guadalupe Island. The species come in many forms, so ...

'' and '' Parvisedum'' species.

Subspecies

Listed alphabetically:''Incisalia''
at Markku Savela's ''Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms'' *'' C. m. bayensis'' (Brown, 1939) – San Bruno elfin (California) *''C. m. doudoroffi'' dos Passos, 1940 (California) *''C. m. hidakupa'' Emmel, Emmel & Mattoon, 1998 (California) *''C. m. marinensis'' Emmel, Emmel & Mattoon, 1998 (California) *''C. m. mossii'' (Vancouver Island) *''C. m. schryveri'' (Cross, 1937) (Colorado) *''C. m. windi'' (Clench, 1943) (California)

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q18324968 Callophrys Butterflies described in 1881 Butterflies of North America