''Callophrys paulae'', the Pfeiffer's green hairstreak, is a

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprises ...

of 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 on the

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...

northern Iran Northern Iran consists of the southern border of the Caspian Sea and the Alborz mountains. It includes the provinces of Gilan, Mazandaran, and Golestan. (Ancient kingdom of Hyrcania, medieval region of Tabaristan). The major provinces, Gilan ...

, southern

Transcaucasia The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Arme ...

, and the

Talysh Mountains Talysh Mountains ( tly, Tolışə Bandon, script=Latn, fa, کوه‌های تالش, Kuhhâye Tâleš; az, Talış dağları) is a mountain range in far southeastern Azerbaijan and far northwestern Iran within Ardabil Province and Gilan Provin ...

. 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 25–30 mm. The species inhabits calcareous grasslands usually dominated by

tragacanth Tragacanth is a natural gum obtained from the dried sap of several species of Middle Eastern Fabaceae, legumes of the genus ''Astragalus'', including ''Astragalus adscendens, A. adscendens'', ''Astragalus gummifer, A. gummifer'', ''Astragalus br ...

locoweeds. It occupies elevation range from 1200 to 2200 m above sea level.Butterfly Conservation Armenia: Callophrys paulae.
/ref> The butterfly flies from mid-May to end of June depending on latitude and elevation. The larvae feed on '' Onobrychis cornuta''.

Subspecies

*''Callophrys paulae paulae'' *''Callophrys paulae kolak'' Higgins, 1965 (Talysh Mountains)

References

External links

Butterfly Conservation Armenia
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15778189 Callophrys Butterflies described in 1932