Eastern pine elfin
Callophrys niphon
Butterfly
A small, tailless brown butterfly whose caterpillars feed on pine needles. BAMONA describes adults visiting flowers and a single spring flight, with dates varying across the range. Openings and edges with young to medium-sized pines provide its larval habitat; NC State Extension explicitly identifies shortleaf pine as a host.
Conservation
BAMONA reports an NCGR rank of G5, globally secure, while noting that it can be rare at the edge of its range. This is the rank reported by that source, not a new conservation assessment.
Plants in the catalog
Larval host plants · 1
NC State Extension explicitly identifies Callophrys niphon as a larval host relationship on shortleaf pine. This relationship applies within the butterfly’s North American range, not automatically wherever the tree is planted.
Range
BAMONA gives the range from Nova Scotia west to eastern Alberta, and south to northern Texas, the Gulf Coast and northern Florida. This is a North American relationship; it does not imply that a pine grown outside that range supports this butterfly.
Sources & citations
Cite this page
Use this citation for the Plotwright wildlife record. Use the source cards below to explore the references that informed its taxonomy, range, conservation, host plants, foraging, and habitat.
Plotwright. (n.d.). Eastern pine elfin (Callophrys niphon). Retrieved from https://plotwright.com/wildlife/eastern-pine-elfin
Sources used for this record
This record is compiled from the sources below.
BAMONA: Eastern Pine Elfin, Callophrys niphon
Species profile distinguishes needle-feeding larvae from nectar-feeding adults and reports one March–June flight across its range.
NC State Extension: Pinus echinata wildlife value
Explicitly names Callophrys niphon as a larval host relationship on shortleaf pine.