View in other NatureServe Network Field Guides
NatureServe
Montana
Utah
Wyoming
Idaho
Wisconsin
British Columbia
South Carolina
Yukon
California
New York
Sheridan's Hairstreak - Callophrys sheridanii
Native Species
Global Rank:
G5
State Rank:
S5
Agency Status
USFWS:
USFS:
BLM:
External Links
General Description
[From Ferris and Brown 1981; Scott 1986; Opler and Wright 1999; Glassberg 2001; Pyle 2002] Forearm 1.0-1.1 cm. Wings with white fringe, sometimes with gray to black marginal line. Uppersurface gray; undersurface apple-green (especially the basal region), forewing with few on no postmedian white markings, hindwing with a thick or thin postmedian white line (not extremely sinuous) bordered inwardly with black, discontinuous white spots, or no white markings.
Phenology
One flight; late March to mid-May at low elevation and mid-June through July at high elevation in Colorado northward, March to September in the southwestern deserts (Scott 1986). March to mid-June in the Rocky Mountain region, April to May at low elevation and June through July at high elevation in the Pacific Coast states (Glassberg 2001). Early March to early August in Oregon and Washington (Pyle 2002), early March to mid-July in Oregon (Warren 2005), mid-April to mid May at low elevation and late June to late July at high elevation in British Columbia (Guppy and Shepard 2001).
Diagnostic Characteristics
Best determined in our region by the undersurface apple-green (especially the basal region), forewing with few on no postmedian white markings, hindwing with a thick or thin postmedian white line (not extremely sinuous) bordered inwardly with black.
Species Range
Montana Range
Range Descriptions
Native
Range Comments
Southern British Columbia, southern Alberta, and western North Dakota south through western mountains and high plains to central California, southern Utah, and southern New Mexico (Scott 1986; Oppler and Wright 1999; Glassberg 2001); up to about 2560 m elevation in Rocky Mountain states (Brown 1957; Ferris and Brown 1981), 213 m to 2500 m elevation in Oregon (Warren 2005), to 2200 m elevation in British Columbia (Guppy and Shepard 2001). In Montana, reported from at least 30 counties across the state (Kohler 1980; Stanford and Opler 1993; FLMNH Lepidopterists' Society database) except the northeastern tier and extreme southeastern corner; 1829 m to 3048 m elevation in Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (Debinski et al. 2013). Locally common in the Rocky Mountain region, locally rare to uncommon in the Pacific Coast states (Glassberg 2001).
Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database
Number of Observations: 2
(Click on the following maps and charts to see full sized version)
Map Help and Descriptions
Relative Density
Recency
(Observations spanning multiple months or years are excluded from time charts)
Migration
Non-migratory.
Habitat
Montane meadows, brushy ravines, sagebrush-steppe, chaparral, above treeline in rocky alpine swales and chutes, open terrain (Scott 1986; Opler and Wright 1999; Glasberg 2001; Pyle 2002). In Glacier National Park, Montana reported from transition areas between forest and alpine terrain (Debinski 1993); in Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (including Gallatin County, Montana) reported in xeric montane meadows dominated by sagebrush (Debinski et al. 2013).
Food Habits
Larval food plants include multiple species of Eriogonum, including E. umbellatum, jamesi, and compositim for the subspecies found in our region (Ferris and Brown 1981; Scott 1986, 1992, 2006; Pyle 2002; Warren 2005). Adults feed on flower nectar, including Arctostaphylos, Berberis, Cerastium, Claytonia, Cymopterus, Eriogonum, Lesquerella, Lomatium, Mertensia, Ranunculus, and Thlaspi (Scott 2014).
Reproductive Characteristics
Females lay eggs singly (40 eggs reported for one female) on host plant, mostly on young leaves (Scott 1986, 1992, 2006; James and Nunnallee 2011). Eggs hatch in about 6 days (depending on temperature), developing to L4 instar and pupating 28-35 days post oviposition. Mature L4 instar seeks refuge in curled dead leaves for pupation. Larvae solitary, feed on host plant leaves, do not build nest or shelter, hibernate as pupae (Scott 1979, 1986; James and Nunnallee 2011). Males perch throughout the day on rocks or bare ground in hillside swales, flatland depressions, canyon or ravine bottoms awaiting passing females (Scott 1975b, 1986; James and Nunnallee 2011).
Stewardship Responsibility
References
- Literature Cited AboveLegend:
View Online Publication
Brown, F.M. 1957. Colorado Butterflies. Proceedings; Numbers Three through Seven. Denver Museum of Natural History, Denver, Co.- Debinski, D. 1993. Butterflies of Glacier National Park, Montana. Occasional Papers of the Museum of Natural History, the University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. No. 159: 1-13.
- Debinski, D.M., J.C. Caruthers, D. Cook, J. Crowley, and H. Wickham. 2013. Gradient-based habitat affinities predict species vulnerability to drought. Ecology 94(5): 1036-1045.
- Ferris, C.D. and F.M. Brown (eds). 1981. Butterflies of the Rocky Mountains. Univ. of Oklahoma Press. Norman. 442 pp.
- Glassberg, J. 2001. Butterflies through Binoculars: A Field Guide to the Butterflies of Western North America. Oxford University Press.
- Guppy, C.S. and J.H. Shepard. 2001. Butterflies of British Columbia: including western Alberta, southern Yukon, the Alaska Panhandle, Washington, northern Oregon, northern Idaho, northwestern Montana. UBC Press (Vancouver, BC) and Royal British Columbia Museum (Victoria, BC). 414 pp.
- James, D.G. and D. Nunnallee. 2011. Life histories of Cascadia butterflies. Corvallis, OR: Oregon State University Press. 447 p.
- Kohler, S. 1980. Checklist of Montana Butterflies (Rhopalocera). Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 34(1): 1-19.
- Opler, P.A. and A.B. Wright. 1999. A field guide to western butterflies. Second edition. Peterson Field Guides. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, Massachusetts. 540 pp.
- Pyle, R.M. 2002. The butterflies of Cascadia: a field guide to all the species of Washington, Oregon, and surrounding territories. Seattle Audubon Society, Seattle, Washington. 420 pp.
- Scott, J.A. 1975b. Mate-locating behavior of western North American butterflies. Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera 14:1-40.
- Scott, J.A. 1979. Hibernal diapause of North American Papilionoidea and Hesperioidea. Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera 18(3): 171-200.
- Scott, J.A. 1986. The butterflies of North America: a natural history and field guide. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California.
- Scott, J.A. 1992. Hostplant records for butterflies and skippers (mostly from Colorado) 1959-1992, with new life histories and notes on oviposition, immatures, and ecology. Papilio new series #6. 185 p.
- Scott, J.A. 2006. Butterfly hostplant records, 1992-2005, with a treatise on the evolution of Erynnis, and a note on new terminology for mate-locating behavior. Papilio new series #14. 74 p.
- Scott, J.A. 2014. Lepidoptera of North America 13. Flower visitation by Colorado butterflies (40,615 records) with a review of the literature on pollination of Colorado plants and butterfly attraction (Lepidoptera: Hersperioidea and Papilionoidea). Contributions of the C.P. Gillette Museum of Arthopod Diversity. Fort Collins, CO: Colorado State University. 190 p.
- Stanford, R.E. and P.A. Opler. 1993. Atlas of western USA butterflies: including adjacent parts of Canada and Mexico. Unpubl. Report. Denver and Fort Collins, Colorado 275 pp.
- Warren, A.D. 2005. Lepidoptera of North America 6: Butterflies of Oregon, their taxonomy, distribution, and biology. Contributions of the C. P. Gillette Museum of Arthropod Diversity, Colorado State University. Fort Collins, Colorado. 406 pp.
- Additional ReferencesLegend: View Online Publication
Do you know of a citation we're missing?- Allen, T.J., J.P. Brock, and J. Glassberg. 2005. Caterpillars in the field and garden: a field guide to the butterfly caterpillars of North America. Oxford University Press.
- Brock, J.P. and K. Kaufman. 2003. Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, New York, NY 284 pp.
- Caruthers, J.C., and D. Debinski. 2006. Montane meadow butterfly species distributions in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. University of Wyoming National Park Service Research Center Annual Report, 2006. Vol. 30, Art. 14. 85-96.
- Debinski, D.M. and J.A. Pritchard. 2002. A field guide to the butterflies of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Lanham, MD: Roberts Rinehart Publishers. 107 p.
- Forister, M.L., C.A. Halsch, C.C. Nice, J.A. Fordyce, T.E. Dilts, J.C. Oliver, K.L. Prudic, A.M. Shapiro, J.K. Wilson, J. Glassberg. 2021. Fewer butterflies seen by community scientists across the warming and drying landscapes of the American West. Science 371:1042-1045.
- Forister, M.L., E.M. Grames, C.A. Halsch, K.J. Burls, C.F. Carroll, K.L. Bell, J.P. Jahner, et al. 2023. Assessing risk for butterflies in the context of climate change, demographic uncertainty, and heterogeneous data sources. Ecological Monographs 93(3):e1584. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecm.1584
- Layberry, R.A., P.W. Hall, and J.D. LaFontaine. 1998. The Butterflies of Canada. University of Toronto Press. 280 pp. + color plates.
- Web Search Engines for Articles on "Sheridan's Hairstreak"
- Additional Sources of Information Related to "Insects"
