San Bruno elfin

Callophrys mossii bayensis
Conservation status
	; Critically Imperiled (NatureServe)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Lycaenidae
Genus:	Callophrys
Species:	C. mossii
Subspecies:	C. m. bayensis
Trinomial name
	Callophrys mossii bayensis; (R. M. Brown, 1942)
Synonyms
	Incisalia mossii bayensis;

The San Bruno elfin (Callophrys mossii bayensis) is a U.S. federally listed endangered subspecies that inhabits rocky outcrops and cliffs in coastal scrub on the San Francisco Peninsula. It is endemic to this habitat in California. Its patchy distribution reflects that of its host plant, broadleaf stonecrop (Sedum spathulifolium).

Life cycle

Adults of this

pupate in ground litter. They lie dormant as pupae until the following spring, when the life cycle

begins anew.

The San Bruno elfin's life cycle holds an interesting aspect, common to many other

parasites

, which are principal killers of foliage feeding insects.

Range and habitat

The San Bruno elfin is restricted to a few small

land developers and conservationists

regarding this unique piece of real estate, jointly prized for its outstanding habitat features and its economically valuable location.

Current management on San Bruno Mountain and in other areas focuses on reduced pesticide use, careful recreation management, and vegetation management. Several areas from which populations had been previously extirpated are also being targeted for revegetation and reintroduction of the butterfly.

Another population of San Bruno elfin is known to be established in

Rockaway Beach, California in Pacifica

.

References

^ Pelham, J. P. (2008). "Callophrys mossii bayensis". NatureServe. Retrieved 17 July 2013.

Brown, R.M., "Larva and habitat of Callophrys fotis bayensis" Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera 8: 49-50 (1969)
Curtis E. Alling, Michael Hogan, Lynn Alexander, et al., "Environmental Impact Report for the West Rockaway Beach Redevelopment Plan prepared for the city of Pacifica", Earth Metrics Incorporated, SCH #85127017, March, 1986
Elizabeth McClintock and Walter Knight, A Flora of the San Bruno Mountains, San Mateo County, California, Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, Fourth Series, Volume XXXII, no. 20, pp. 587–677, November 29, 1968
Emmel, J.F. and C.D. Ferris, "The biology of Callophrys (Incisalia) fotis bayensis (Lycaenidae)" Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society 26 (4): 237-244 (1972)

[1] Pelham, J. P. (2008). "Callophrys mossii bayensis". NatureServe. Retrieved 17 July 2013.

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