''Satyrium californica'', the California hairstreak, is a

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 ...

of 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

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 ...

.Butterflies and Moths of North America collecting and sharing data about Lepidoptera
/ref>

Description

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 . Underside of wings are gray with band of black spots and band of orange markings near the margin. The hindwing has a pale blue spot with small or no orange cap, and two "tails." Upperside of wings are brown with orange markings near these tails on the hindwings.

Behavior

Adults feed on the nectar of various flowers, including ''

Eriogonum ''Eriogonum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Polygonaceae. The genus is found in North America and is known as wild buckwheat. This is a highly species-rich genus, and indications are that active speciation is continuing. It incl ...

'' and ''

Asclepias ''Asclepias'' is a genus of herbaceous, perennial, flowering plants known as milkweeds, named for their latex, a milky substance containing cardiac glycosides termed cardenolides, exuded where cells are damaged. Most species are toxic to huma ...

'' species. In Canada, the larvae feed on ''

Cercocarpus ''Cercocarpus'', commonly known as mountain mahogany, is a small genus of at least nine species of nitrogen-fixing flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae. They are native to the western United States and northern Mexico, where they grow i ...

'', ''

Salix Willows, also called sallows and osiers, of the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 350 species (plus numerous hybrids) of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions. Most species are known ...

'' species, buckbrush (''

Ceanothus ''Ceanothus'' is a genus of about 50–60 species of nitrogen-fixing shrubs and small trees in the buckthorn family (Rhamnaceae). Common names for members of this genus are buckbrush, California lilac, soap bush, or just ceanothus. ''"Ceanothus" ...

'' spp.), antelope-brush (''

Purshia tridentata ''Purshia tridentata'', with the common name bitterbrush, is a shrub in the genus ''Purshia'' of the family Rosaceae. It is native to mountainous areas of western North America. Common names include antelope bitterbrush, antelope bush, buckbrus ...

''), oaks (''

Quercus An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

'' spp.), cherry (''

Prunus ''Prunus'' is a genus of flowering plant, flowering trees and shrubs from the family (biology), family Rosaceae. The genus includes plums, cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots and almonds (collectively Drupe, stonefruit). The genus has a cosm ...

'' spp.), and saskatoon (''

Amelanchier alnifolia ''Amelanchier alnifolia'', the saskatoon berry, Pacific serviceberry, western serviceberry, western shadbush, or western juneberry, is a shrub native to North America. It is a member of the rose family, and bears an edible berry-like fruit. D ...

)''.California Hairstreak
Butterflies of Canada In California, they are noted to feed on oaks, ''

Apocynum cannabinum ''Apocynum cannabinum'' (dogbane, amy root, hemp dogbane, prairie dogbane, Indian hemp, hemp dogsbane, rheumatism root, dogsbane, or wild cotton) is a perennial herbaceous plant that grows throughout much of North America—in the southern hal ...

'', ''

Marrubium ''Marrubium'' (horehound or hoarhound) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Lamiaceae, native to temperate regions of Europe, North Africa, and Asia as far east as the Xinjiang region of western China. A few species are also naturalized ...

'' species, ''

Ceanothus velutinus ''Ceanothus'' is a genus of about 50–60 species of nitrogen-fixing shrubs and small trees in the buckthorn family (Rhamnaceae). Common names for members of this genus are buckbrush, California lilac, soap bush, or just ceanothus. ''"Ceanothus" ...

'',

California buckeye ''Aesculus californica'', commonly known as the California buckeye or California horse-chestnut, is a species of buckeye native to California and southwestern Oregon. Description Aesculus californica is a large deciduous shrub or small tree, u ...

, milkweed, and other plants. Adults are active April to September, depending on region. They

overwinter Overwintering is the process by which some organisms pass through or wait out the winter season, or pass through that period of the year when "winter" conditions (cold or sub-zero temperatures, ice, snow, limited food supplies) make normal activ ...

as eggs.

Subspecies

Listed alphabetically. *''S. c. brashor'' Kondla & Scott, 2006 *''S. c. californica'' *''S. c. cygnus'' (Edwards, 1871) *''S. c. obscurafacies'' (Austin, 1998) *''S. c. wapiti'' Fisher, 2006

References

Butterflies described in 1862 Satyrium (butterfly) {{Eumaeini-stub