Butterfly: Wingspan: 1 - 1¼ inches (2.2 - 3.2 cm) UPPER SURFACE (dorsal) Seldom seen. Various shades of brown. Male with dark stigma patch on forewing. UNDER SURFACE (ventral) Various shades of brown, including rich mahogany; outer portions lighter. No tails.
ID Tip: Small and plain; no frosting or tails.
Egg: Whitish; flattened disc shape. Many tiny pits. Usually tucked into buds of host.
Caterpillar: Yellow green: pale yellow dashes and yellow lateral stripe.
Chrysalis: Brown; bean shaped. The overwintering stage.
Brown Elfins are Alabama’s plainest elfins—not tails or frostings decorate their wings. They have only a brief spring flight and seldom wander far from their hosts. They generally stay close to the ground and nectar from a variety of small, spring-blooming flowers.
In the eastern U.S., Brown Elfin caterpillars typically eat buds and flowers of plants in the Heath family. In Alabama, Mountain Laurel is the heath they are known to use, although others may also be chosen. Females place eggs on or near bud clusters, and young caterpillars bore into immature flowers to reach developing pollen granules, which are protein rich. Older larvae eat flowers. As the bloom cycle ends, so does the caterpillars' eating phase. Chrysalides erst in ground litter where they spend the winter.
In 2009, Brown Elfins' known range extended only into north Georgia, and one historic record placed them in north Alabama. It was shocking news when they were discovered in Florida's Panhandle, roughly 200 miles further south. Wayne Barger and Brian Holt found and documented Brown Elfins in Alabama's Red Hills in 2012. Other small populations have been found at Tannehill State Park, the Bankhead National Forest, and Cane Creek Canyon Nature Preserve. Whether they persist is not known.
A dot on the county map indicates that there is at least one documented record of the species within that county. In some cases, a species may be common throughout the county, in others it may be found in only a specific habitat. The High Count information shows the highest numbers recorded for this species as well as when and where they occurred.
The sightings bar graphs depict the timing of flight(s) within each of three geographic regions. Place your cursor on a bar within the graph to see the number of individuals recorded during that period.
The abundance calendar displays the total number of individuals recorded within each week of the month. Both the graphs and the calendar are on based data collection that began in 2000.
The records analyzed here are only a beginning. As more data is collected, these maps and graphs will paint a more accurate picture of distribution and abundance in Alabama. Submit your sightings to albutterflyatlas@gmail.com.
Sightings in the following counties: Bibb, Colbert, Lawrence, Monroe
High count(s):
View county names by moving the mouse over a county or view a map with county names
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17 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
Acidic woodlands including dry pine-oak woods, outcrops, steep hardwood slopes, red clay hilltops in longleaf pine woods.
Reports from nearby states list plants in the Heath family (Ericaceae) including blueberries (Vaccineum spp.), huckleberries (Gaylussacia spp.), laurels (Kalmia spp.), and Trailing Arbutus (Epigaea repens).
The following has been documented in Alabama:
For more information about these plants, please visit the Alabama Plant Atlas using the links above.
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