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

Colorado Hairstreak Butterfly

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