''Callophrys viridis'', the coastal green hairstreak, is a species of

butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

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 endemic to

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 ...

Habitat

This butterfly can be found in coastal dunes, shrublands, and oak woodlands.

Life cycle and behaviour

Eggs

The eggs are light green and are deposited singly on the leaves of the host plant.

Larvae

The Larvae are whitish with pink markings, but become a reddish colour shortly before pupating. They are known to feed on '' Eriogonum latifolium'', '' Eriogonum nudum'', and occasionally ''

Lotus scoparius ''Acmispon glaber'' (previously ''Lotus scoparius'') (common deerweed, deer weed, deervetch, California broom or western bird's-foot trefoil) is a perennial subshrub in the family Fabaceae (pea family). The plant is a pioneer species found in dry ...

''.

Pupae

The caterpillars pupate in leaf litter at the base of the host plant.

Adults

The adults are known to feed on nectar from ''

Fragaria chiloensis ''Fragaria chiloensis'', the beach strawberry, Chilean strawberry, or coastal strawberry, is one of two species of wild strawberry that were hybridized to create the modern garden strawberry (''F. × ananassa''). It is native to the Pacific Oce ...

'', '' Armeria maritima'', and ''

Erigeron glaucus ''Erigeron glaucus'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name seaside fleabane, beach aster, or seaside daisy. It is native to the West Coast of the United States. Description ''E. glaucus'' is a peren ...

''.

Taxonomy

In 1998, due to a disagreement over the identity of the

lectotype In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally associated. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes ...

for the species ''

Callophrys dumetorum ''Callophrys dumetorum'', the bramble hairstreak or lotus hairstreak, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in the United States in coastal California and rarely in inland California. Subspecies ''C. d. oregonensis'' is known as th ...

'', the names of both ''C. dumetorum'' and ''C. viridis'' were changed to ''C. perplexa'' and ''C. dumetorum'' respectively. In 2012,

ICZN The International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is a widely accepted convention in zoology that rules the formal scientific naming of organisms treated as animals. It is also informally known as the ICZN Code, for its formal author, t ...

Opinion 2291 designated a

neotype In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally associated. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes ...

for ''C. dumetorum'' and reverted the name changes for both species. As such, the valid name for the coastal green hairstreak is ''Callophrys viridis'', however many sources from 1998 to 2012 use the name ''Callophrys dumetorum'' instead.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15778571 viridis Butterflies of North America Fauna of California Butterflies described in 1862 Taxa named by William Henry Edwards