Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar

TaxonomyBrowseInfoImagesLinksBooksData
Photo#259082
Bramble Hairstreak - Callophrys dumetorum

Bramble Hairstreak - Callophrys dumetorum
Caspers Wilderness Park, San Juan Capistrano, Orange County, California, USA
March 17, 2009
Many flying and courting by the Nature Center, around deerweed, the host plant.

Lovely...
...addition to your other images here in the Guide. You and Hartmut seem to be pretty much wholly responsible for the BG photos of this subspecies. I actually saw one of these flying around Webb Canyon on January 29th earlier this year. I knew they were early flyers, but that seemed really early to me...

 
Yes, January would be quite early.
Info on flight period from Orsak book, the OC butterfly bible:

"One brood occurs, which flies from early March to early April. Gorelick (1971) states that dumetorum flies as early as the first part of February (in southern California). Late March normally seems to be the period of peak flight."

This is one of my favorite butterflies, and I don't see them half as often as I'd like. (Hartmut and I seem have a passion for shooting a lot of the same stuff. Together, we account for about 2/3 of the bee flies here.)

 
I think that was only my 2nd sighting...
...for the canyon, and I agree, I'd love to see them more often. Certainly would love to take a photograph of one even half as nice as the images you guys have up.

As far as all the bee fly images go... I'm certainly not complaining. The more documentation and photos of CA species, the better as far as I'm concerned.

Comment viewing options
Select your preferred way to display the comments and click 'Save settings' to activate your changes.