Pollinator
Juniper hairstreak
Callophrys gryneus
A living emerald, one of the few truly green butterflies of North America.
- Family
- Lycaenidae (gossamer-wings)
- Wingspan
- 0.9 to 1.3 in (2.3 to 3.3 cm)
- Flight season
- Spring to summer
- Range
- Across the United States
- Caterpillar food
- Junipers and red cedar
- Conservation
- Secure and widespread
A living emerald, the juniper hairstreak is one of the few truly green butterflies in North America, its underside a soft moss green crossed with white.
It stays close to its host trees, and is most often found by tapping a red cedar and watching one flutter out. It flies in one or two broods.
Caterpillars feed only on junipers, including eastern red cedar, and are camouflaged green against the foliage.
Plants for the juniper hairstreak
40 native plants with documented flower-visit records. Narrow with the filters below.
40 plants
1 of 2
1 of 2
1 of 3
1 of 2
1 of 3
1 of 3
1 of 2
1 of 3
1 of 2
1 of 2
1 of 3
1 of 3
1 of 2
1 of 2
1 of 2
1 of 2
1 of 2
1 of 3
1 of 2
1 of 3
1 of 2
1 of 2
1 of 3
1 of 2
1 of 2
1 of 2
1 of 2
1 of 2
1 of 2
1 of 2
1 of 2
1 of 2
No plants match those filters.
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).