Moss' Elfin
Callophrys mossii (Hy. Edwards, 1881)
Family: Lycaenidae
Subfamily: Theclinae
Identification: Upperside of male grayish brown with a tan patch on hindwing inner margin; female light brown to tan with dark borders. Underside coppery brown to purplish brown; inner half of hindwing darker than light outer half.
Wing Span: 7/8 - 1 1/8 inches (2.2 - 2.8 cm).
Life History: In California, males perch on shrubs or at tops of cliffs to watch for females; in Colorado they perch in gulches. Eggs are laid singly on the underside of host plant leaves. Young caterpillars feed on leaves; older ones on flowers and fruits. Chrysalids hibernate.
Flight: One flight from March-June.
Caterpillar Hosts: Stonecrop (Sedum, Sedella, Dudleya, and Parvisedum) species in the Crassulaceae family.
Adult Food: Not reported.
Habitat: Rocky outcrops, woody canyons, cliffs.
Range: Patchy, isolated populations from British Columbia south to southern California, east to Wyoming and Colorado.
Conservation: The San Bruno Elfin (Callophrys mossii bayensis) is listed as Endangered by the U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service. This subspecies is limited to the San Bruno Mountains in San Mateo County, California and a few nearby sites. The San Bruno Elfin has The Nature Conservancy Rank of T1 - Critically imperiled because of extreme rarity (5 or fewer occurrences, or very few remaining individuals), or because of some factor of its biology making it especially vulnerable to extinction. (Critically endangered throughout its range).
NCGR:
Management Needs: Protect habitat of the San Bruno Elfin and other limited populations from development and encroachment by non-native plants.
Comments: NULL
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Verified Sightings
Displaying 1 - 24 of 233 verified sightings
Observation date: May 13, 2023
Submitted by: cklindsey
Region: Umatilla County, Oregon, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: May 20, 2023
Observation date: May 10, 2023
Submitted by: weflybye
Region: Mason County, Washington, United States
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: May 13, 2023
Observation date: Apr 18, 2021
Submitted by: CyndiSmith
Region: San Juan County, Washington, United States
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: Apr 21, 2023
Observation date: Apr 18, 2020
Submitted by: LunaLT
Region: British Columbia, Canada
Verified by: Paul Prappas
Verified date: Sep 10, 2022
Observation date: Apr 23, 2020
Submitted by: LunaLT
Region: British Columbia, Canada
Verified by: Paul Prappas
Verified date: Sep 10, 2022
Observation date: Apr 30, 2022
Submitted by: LunaLT
Region: British Columbia, Canada
Verified by: Paul Prappas
Verified date: Sep 07, 2022
Observation date: Aug 03, 2022
Submitted by: weflybye
Region: Mason County, Washington, United States
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: Aug 04, 2022
Observation date: Jul 12, 2022
Submitted by: weflybye
Region: Mason County, Washington, United States
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: Jul 18, 2022
Observation date: Apr 30, 2022
Submitted by: WYbutterflyer1
Region: Fremont County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: mikefisher
Verified date: Jun 26, 2022
Observation date: Jun 08, 2022
Submitted by: weflybye
Region: Mason County, Washington, United States
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: Jun 09, 2022
Observation date: May 16, 2022
Submitted by: dsperanza
Region: Powell County, Montana, United States
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: May 19, 2022
Observation date: May 04, 2022
Submitted by: Ed Rothwell
Region: Spokane County, Washington, United States
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: May 05, 2022
Observation date: Apr 24, 2022
Submitted by: weflybye
Region: Mason County, Washington, United States
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: Apr 27, 2022
Observation date: Apr 22, 2022
Submitted by: weflybye
Region: Mason County, Washington, United States
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: Apr 27, 2022
Observation date: Apr 22, 2022
Submitted by: WYbutterflyer1
Region: Albany County, Wyoming, United States
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: Apr 25, 2022
Observation date: Mar 11, 2022
Submitted by: Robert Gorman
Region: San Mateo County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Mar 30, 2022
Observation date: Jun 26, 2017
Submitted by: PetraM
Region: San Mateo County, California, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Feb 25, 2022
Observation date: Jun 20, 2018
Submitted by: Mark Salvato
Region: Monterey County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Oct 19, 2021
Observation date: Apr 23, 2019
Submitted by: jrmbutterfly
Region: British Columbia, Canada
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: Aug 31, 2021
Observation date: May 09, 2019
Submitted by: jrmbutterfly
Region: British Columbia, Canada
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: Aug 31, 2021
Observation date: Jul 03, 2018
Submitted by: MTmariposa
Region: Missoula County, Montana, United States
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: Aug 09, 2021
Observation date: May 16, 2021
Submitted by: NikkiM
Region: Montana, United States
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: Jun 16, 2021
Observation date: May 14, 2021
Submitted by: weflybye
Region: Mason County, Washington, United States
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: May 17, 2021
Observation date: Apr 28, 2021
Submitted by: PDunwiddie
Region: San Juan County, Washington, United States
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: May 09, 2021
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