Hoary Elfin

Callophrys polios

Identification: Tiny—size of Eastern Tailed-Blue. Almost never seen with wings open. Below: FW and HW brown, darker toward the base of the HW, with frosting on margins of both FW and HW. Similar hairstreaks: Frosted Elfin has frosting only on HW, and has dark spot near HW tails that Hoary lacks. Brown Elfin completely lacks frosting.

NJ Status and Distribution: Resident. Rare and very local in Ocean and Burlington counties. Classified as Special Concern in NJ.

Habitat: Open areas where the host plant grows.

Flight Period: Late April to late May. Extreme dates: South Jersey 3/30-5/25.

Caterpillar Food Plants: Mainly Bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi); possibly also Trailing Arbutus (Epigaea repens).

Overwintering Stage: Pupa.

Good Locations: Penn SF, Bamber Lake Park (Lacey Twp.), Manchester WMA, Warren Grove RA.

Comments: Bearberry is a reasonably common ground cover in the Pine Barrens but only a few colonies are known to support Hoary Elfin.

Warren Grove RA, Ocean Co., NJ, 4/14/12.

Manchester Twp., Ocean Co., NJ, 5/2/20, on Bearberry food plant.

Bearberry, which is the main host plant for Hoary Elfin. This ground-hugging shrub is locally common in the NJ Pine Barrens.