Green Hairstreak Corridor
Green Hairstreak butterflies drink nectar from native flowering plants including Seaside Daisy, Wild Cucumber, and Coast Strawberry. Caterpillars feed almost exclusively on Coast Buckwheat and Deerweed.
Everyone is welcome to join us in a hands-on experience with this local habitat restoration project. We provide everything you need to learn and enjoy.
Green Hairstreak butterflies emerge from chrysalis from early February to late April. During their flying and mating (as seen above) season, you can often see them along the Green Hairstreak corridor.
Green Hairstreak butterflies are the iridescent jewels of the Inner Sunset. Our work restores habitats in public to help save this butterfly.
Our efforts to restore and maintain “stepping stone” habitats between larger parks have helped prevent the beautiful Green Hairstreak butterfly from becoming locally extinct (extirpated) in San Francisco. Our work is increasing the population and strengthening its genetic diversity.
Butterflies & Biodiversity
Butterflies (and moths to a lesser extent) are an important group of ‘model’ organisms used for centuries to investigate many areas of biological research, including such diverse fields as navigation, pest control, embryology, mimicry, evolution, genetics, population dynamics, and biodiversity conservation.
Butterflies and moths are indicators of a healthy environment and healthy ecosystems. Areas rich in butterflies and moths are rich in other invertebrates. They are biodiverse.
Invertebrates collectively provide a wide range of environmental benefits, including pollination and natural pest control. Biodiversity is crucial because humans depend on functions performed by the world’s ecosystems. Ecosystems produce oxygen, purify and detoxify the air and water, store and cycle fresh water, regulate the climate, form topsoil, prevent erosion and flood damage, and produce raw materials, foods, and medicines.
Location
Located in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Heights neighborhood, the Green Hairstreak Corridor runs (or flies!) from Hawk Hill, on the corner of 14th and Rivera, to a small triangular median on the corner of Aloha and Lomita. The Corridor includes Golden Gate Heights Park and Grandview Park, as well as small medians and yards in between, creating a true urban wildlife corridor of large and small restored habitat sites for the Green Hairstreak butterfly.
Learn more
Community workdays at the Green Hairstreak Corridor are every 3rd Saturday of the month at different sites. Visit our calendar to RSVP to the next one!