Hoary Elfin
Callophrys polios (Cook & Watson, 1907)
Family: Lycaenidae
Subfamily: Theclinae
Identification: No tails. Upperside is orangish brown; underside brown. Forewing with outer margin of "frosted" white; irregular postmedian line is white. Outer half of hindwing is "frosted" light gray.
Wing Span: 7/8 - 1 1/8 inches (2.2 - 2.9 cm).
Life History: Males perch on plants in sunny clearings and low spots to look for females. Eggs are laid singly on leaf buds or flower pedicels. Chrysalids hibernate.
Flight: One flight from April-June.
Caterpillar Hosts: Bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi) in the heath family (Ericaceae); probably trailing arbutus (Epigaea repens).
Adult Food: Nectar from flowers including leatherleaf, pyxie, wild strawberry, and willow.
Habitat: Open sunny glades in barrens, rocky ridges, dunes, forest edges, adjacent to bogs.
Range: Very local distribution. Maine south to New Jersey, south in Appalachians to Virginia; west across Great Lakes states and southern prairie provinces; north to Alaska. Along Pacific Coast to northern California; south in Rocky Mountains to northern New Mexico.
Conservation: Not usually required.
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management Needs: None reported.
Comments: NULL
Verified Sightings
Displaying 1 - 24 of 419 verified sightings
Observation date: Apr 08, 2021
Submitted by: weflybye
Region: Mason County, Washington, United States
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: Apr 09, 2021
Observation date: May 31, 2020
Submitted by: J_Martineau
Region: Johnson County, Wyoming, United States
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: Dec 07, 2020
Observation date: Jun 26, 2019
Submitted by: malcolmgold
Region: South Dakota, United States
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: Aug 28, 2020
Observation date: May 25, 2020
Submitted by: jvkopple2
Region: Pennington County, South Dakota, United States
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: Jul 31, 2020
Observation date: May 18, 2014
Submitted by: cjbruchman
Region: Lake County, Illinois, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jul 21, 2020
Observation date: May 29, 2020
Submitted by: A_baldini
Region: Larimer County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: A_baldini
Verified date: Jun 06, 2020
Observation date: May 23, 2020
Submitted by: dbrudin
Region: Teller County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: A_baldini
Verified date: Jun 03, 2020
Observation date: May 08, 2020
Submitted by: razmakat
Region: Spokane County, Washington, United States
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: Jun 01, 2020
Observation date: May 05, 2020
Submitted by: weflybye
Region: Mason County, Washington, United States
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: May 06, 2020
Observation date: Apr 14, 2020
Submitted by: weflybye
Region: Mason County, Washington, United States
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: Apr 16, 2020
Observation date: Jun 04, 2019
Submitted by: stevecary
Region: Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Jan 26, 2020
Observation date: May 25, 2011
Submitted by: Jonathan Batkin
Region: San Miguel County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Jan 19, 2020
Observation date: May 03, 2014
Submitted by: Jonathan Batkin
Region: Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Dec 30, 2019
Observation date: May 12, 2019
Submitted by: A_baldini
Region: Larimer County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: mikefisher
Verified date: Oct 04, 2019
Observation date: Jun 02, 2018
Submitted by: dsperanza
Region: Powell County, Montana, United States
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: Aug 30, 2019
Observation date: May 17, 2017
Submitted by: Craig M Lipski
Region: Iosco County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Aug 08, 2019
Observation date: Jun 07, 2019
Submitted by: jvkopple2
Region: Kalkaska County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Jun 07, 2019
Observation date: Jun 02, 2019
Submitted by: jvkopple2
Region: Kalkaska County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Jun 02, 2019
Observation date: May 17, 2019
Submitted by: jvkopple2
Region: Kalkaska County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: May 30, 2019
Observation date: Apr 29, 2019
Submitted by: weflybye
Region: Mason County, Washington, United States
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: Apr 30, 2019
Observation date: Apr 26, 2019
Submitted by: dlister
Region: Thurston County, Washington, United States
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: Apr 27, 2019
Observation date: May 27, 2014
Submitted by: hydapse
Region: Carbon County, Montana, United States
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: Feb 21, 2019
Observation date: May 21, 2017
Submitted by: moralea
Region: British Columbia, Canada
Verified by: Norbert Kondla
Verified date: Nov 24, 2018
Observation date: May 29, 2018
Submitted by: Jay Brasher
Region: Keweenaw County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Jul 17, 2018
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