Western Green Hairstreak (Callophrys affinis [W. H. Edwards])
Wing span: 1 - 1 1/8 inches (2.5 - 3 cm).
Identification: No tails. Adults variable. Upperside ranges from gray to orange-tinted to bright orange-brown. Underside of forewing green with orange or gray patch. Underside of hindwing yellow-green to green; postmedian white line usually reduced to a few spots.
Life history: Males perch on hilltops or in gulches to seek females. Eggs are laid singly on flower buds of host plants; caterpillars feed on flowers and young fruits, and occasionally leaves. Chrysalids hibernate.
Flight: One flight from May-July.
Caterpillar hosts: Various Eriogonum, Lotus, and Ceanothus species.
Adult food: Flower nectar.
Habitat: Brushland, chaparral, woods, scrub.
Range: Southern British Columbia and Washington south through California into northern Baja California; east to central Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico.
