''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 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 ...

. It is found from

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

south to southern

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

and east to

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the sou ...

and

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

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 other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan ...

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 succul ...

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

Sedella Sedella is a town and municipality in the province of Málaga, part of the autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain. The municipality is situated approximately 54 kilometres from the provincial capital of Málaga, 23 from Vélez-Mála ...

'', ''

Dudleya ''Dudleya'', commonly known as liveforevers (Spanish: ''siemprevivas'') is a genus of succulent plants in the stonecrop family, Crassulaceae, consisting of about 68 taxa in southwestern North America and Guadalupe Island. The species come in m ...

'' 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