26 Şubat 2013 Salı

Colorado State Insect


Colorado State Insect

Colorado Hairstreak Butterfly (common name)
Hypaurotis crysalus
(scientific name)

Overview

The Colorado hairstreak is an elusive butterfly native to the mountainous oak forests of the Rocky Mountains. It has purple wings with black borders, orange corners, and blue undersides. It also has a distinctive, thin curved tail on its hind wings. The butterfly became Colorado’s state insect in 1996 thanks in part to the tenacity of Melinda Terry's fourth grade class at Wheeling Elementary School in Aurora, Colorado, who suggested it was the most appropriate candidate insect and spent years promoting this beautiful native butterfly until its final adoption.

Close-up

STATUS
Official
PHYSICAL DETAILS
Wingspan: 1.25–1.5 in (3.1–3.8 cm).
Larvae:
 Slug-like
LIFESPAN
Adult: Three months
HABITAT
Scrub and woodlands at elevations between 6,500 and 7,500 feet (2,000–2,275 m), where the Gambel's oak (Quercus gambelii) is common.
Range: The southwestern United States from eastern Nevada and Arizona in the west to southern Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico in the east. Small populations are also found in the mountainous areas of the central Mexican states of Sonora and Durango.
Flight period: One flight from June–August
Conservation status: Least Concern
BEHAVIOR
Before it dies in the late summer and early fall, the female Colorado hairstreak lays urchin-shaped eggs one-at-a-time on oak leaves, branches, and bark. The eggs overwinter and hatch into caterpillars in the spring.
DIET
Adults: Tree sap, "honeydew" secretions from aphids, and other insects.
Larvae: Leaves of oak trees, particularly the Gambel oak
TRIVIA
  • The species is highly dependent upon the Gambel oak, found only in the mountains of the southern Continental Divide.

Click to enlarge an image
State Insect
Colorado Hairstreak Butterfly
State Insect
Frontal View of Colorado Hairstreak Butterfly

CLASSIFICATION
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Arthropoda
Class:Insecta
Order:Lepidoptera
Super Family:Papilionoidea
Family:Lycaenidae
Sub family:Theclinae
Genus:Hypaurotis
Species:H. crysalus
Author: World Trade Press

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