Bug Wiki
Bug Wiki / All bugs / Butterflies
Sticker of Hoary elfin
Bug card No. 2247 of 4,939

Hoary elfin

Callophrys polios
Eats: Nectar and pollenButterfliesGardens and meadows6 legs

The hoary elfin is a small butterfly from North America. It comes out in spring, from April to June. It spends the whole winter asleep inside its chrysalis.

Lives in
North America, for example Colorado and California
Wingspan
2.2 to 2.9 cm (0.87 to 1.1 in)
Top speed
about 10 km/h (6.2 mph)
Flying, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. Butterflies cannot bite or sting.
What does it eat?
The grown-ups sip nectar from flowers such as wild strawberry and willow. The caterpillars feed on a low plant called bearberry.
For real!Photo of Hoary elfin
Picture by Reuven Martin. CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How wide are its wings?

Hoary elfin wings about 2.9 cm tip to tip (1.1 in)A grain of rice about 6 mm (0.24 in)A toy building brick about 3.2 cm (1.3 in)A crayon about 9 cm (3.5 in)
wings as wide as 5 grains of rice in a rowcould fly across a whole football pitch in 38 seconds

How big is Hoary elfin compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

It spends the winter as a chrysalis and only comes out when spring arrives.

2

There is just one family of new butterflies each year.

3

In the state of Connecticut it has not been seen for a long time, and people think it may be gone from there.

you asked

Most asked questions about Hoary elfin

?When can you see a hoary elfin?

In spring, from April to June.

?What does a hoary elfin eat?

The butterflies drink flower nectar, and the caterpillars eat a low plant called bearberry.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Callophrys polios
Group
Butterflies
Family
Lycaenidae
Classification
Insecta > Lepidoptera > Lycaenidae
Lives on
North America

Where the facts come from

  1. Callophrys polios (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Reuven Martin. CC0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

Bug Wiki honey jar For grown-ups: Bug Wiki is free, with no ads and no tracking. A small tip helps keep it online.Leave a tip

More from the same group: Butterflies

Monarch butterflyButterfliesPeacock butterflyButterfliesBlue morphoButterfliesOld World swallowtailButterfliesSmall whiteButterfliesEastern tiger swallowtailButterflies

Also at home here: Gardens and meadows

Southern yellowwinged grasshopperGrasshoppers and cricketsPurple meadow bush-cricketGrasshoppers and cricketsHyatt's big-headed antAntsPonderous spur-throat grasshopperGrasshoppers and cricketsNepalese turtle beetleBeetlesLantana hispidBeetles
Honey jarfor grown-ups