Attributes of Lycaena heteronea
Blue Copper
Lycaena heteronea Boisduval, 1852
Family: Lycaenidae
Subfamily: Lycaeninae
Identification: Upper surface of male bright blue, with darker veins; female dull blue to dark brown with numerous small dark spots. Underside of both sexes white to yellow-white; hindwing varies from having many to few black spots.
Wing Span: 1 1/8 - 1 3/8 inches (2.9 - 3.5 cm).
Life History: Most males patrol near host plants for females, but some perch. Females lay eggs singly on bracts under host leaves or umbels; eggs hatch the following spring. Young caterpillars feed on the underside of leaf; older ones eat all parts of the leaf.
Flight: One flight from May-August.
Caterpillar Hosts: Wild buckwheat (Eriogonum species) in the buckwheat family (Polygonaceae).
Adult Food: Nectar from flowers, including wild buckwheat.
Habitat: Brushy areas, open forest, mountain meadows, sagebrush; mostly at high elevations except for low elevations in central California.
Range: British Columbia south and east through southcentral California, northern Arizona, and northern New Mexico.
Conservation: Lycaena heteronea has The Nature Conservancy Global Rank of G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery. Varied Copper (subspecies clara) of southern California has been evaluated for conservation, and has The Nature Conservancy rank of T2 - Imperiled because of rarity (6 to 20 occurrences), or because of other factors demonstrably making it very vulnerable to extinction throughout its range. (Endangered throughout its range).
NCGR:
Management Needs: None reported.
Taxonomy Notes:
Images of Lycaena heteronea
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The map below displays all verified sighting records in the BAMONA database for this species. Each record is indicated with a yellow dot. The orange dots on the map provide access to information about the 400 most recently verified sightings of this species. In some instances, there are several records at the same location. Use the table view to access these records.
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The fifty most recently verified sightings are below. See more recently verified sightings of all species.
| Observation Date | Submitter | Region |
Verified Date |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Coconino County, Arizona, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Alpine County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Amador County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Calaveras County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Colusa County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Del Norte County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | El Dorado County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Fresno County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Humboldt County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Inyo County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Kern County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Kings County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Lassen County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Los Angeles County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Madera County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Marin County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Mariposa County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Modoc County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Mono County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Napa County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Nevada County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Placer County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Plumas County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Sacramento County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | San Bernardino County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | San Francisco County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | San Joaquin County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | San Mateo County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Shasta County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Sierra County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Siskiyou County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Sonoma County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Tehama County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Trinity County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Tulare County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Tuolumne County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Ventura County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Yuba County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Colusa County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Alamosa County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Archuleta County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Boulder County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Chaffee County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Clear Creek County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Conejos County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Costilla County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Custer County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Delta County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Dolores County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Douglas County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details |
