Pollinator
Eastern pine elfin
Callophrys niphon
An intricately banded little brown butterfly of spring pinelands.
- Family
- Lycaenidae (gossamer-wings)
- Wingspan
- 0.75 to 1.25 in (1.9 to 3.2 cm)
- Flight season
- Spring
- Range
- Eastern North America
- Caterpillar food
- Pines
- Conservation
- Secure and widespread
The eastern pine elfin is a small brown butterfly whose underside is beautifully banded in dark and rust, one of the early elfins that appear in spring.
It flies in a single spring brood in and around pine woods, basking on sunny ground and visiting early flowers.
Caterpillars feed on the new growth of pines.
Plants for the eastern pine elfin
36 native plants with documented flower-visit records. Narrow with the filters below.
36 plants
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Sources
- Butterflies and Moths of North America ↗
- iNaturalist ↗
- Plant associations from GloBI flower-visit records and NPIN larval-host data. Butterfly photographs via iNaturalist (CC BY).