Eastern pine elfin
The eastern pine elfin is a small brown butterfly from North America with a busy pattern of stripes under its wings. It lives near pine trees on sandy ground. It comes out early in spring, when many other butterflies are still asleep.
How big is it?
How wide are its wings?
How big is Eastern pine elfin compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
How fast is it?
Fun facts
It flies only once a year: in March and April in the south, and from mid-May to early June in the north.
The mother lays her eggs one at a time.
It spends the winter as a pupa, tucked in a loose cocoon among the fallen leaves under the tree.
It looks like its cousin, the western pine elfin, but has two dark bars on the underside of its front wing instead of one.
Most asked questions about Eastern pine elfin
?When can you see the eastern pine elfin?
In spring. It flies in March and April in the south and in May and June in the north.
?How big is the eastern pine elfin?
It is small. Its wings are about 2 to 3 centimetres across.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Callophrys niphon
- Group
- Butterflies
- Family
- Lycaenidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Lycaenidae
- Lives on
- North America
Where the facts come from
- Callophrys niphon (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Judy Gallagher. CC BY 2.0, 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
Monarch butterfly
Peacock butterfly
Blue morpho
Old World swallowtail
Small white
Eastern tiger swallowtail
Asian jumping worm
Orange-tipped oakworm moth
Banana slug
Common true katydid
Winter moth
Acorn weevil