Tailed Copper
Lycaena arota (Boisduval, 1852)
Family: Lycaenidae
Subfamily: Lycaeninae
Identification: Each hindwing of both sexes has a tail. Upper surface of male copper-brown with iridescent purple sheen; female with orange and dark brown pattern. Underside of both sexes gray; forewing with black spots, hindwing with black scrawls and a band of submarginal white crescents.
Wing Span: 1 1/8 - 1 3/8 inches (3 - 3.5 cm).
Life History: Males perch in open areas, often near watercourses or ravines, in the morning to watch for females. Eggs are laid singly on host plant or on debris under it, and hibernate until the following spring. Caterpillars eat leaves.
Flight: One flight from May-August.
Caterpillar Hosts: Leaves of gooseberry and currant (Ribes species) in the Grossulariaceae family.
Adult Food: Flower nectar.
Habitat: Open mixed woodland, sagebrush, chaparral.
Range: New Mexico north and west to Oregon, south to southern California and Baja California.
Conservation: Clouded copper, subspecies nubila, has greatly declined in the vicinity of Los Angeles, California. Lycaena arota nubila has The Nature Conservancy rank of T1 - Critically imperiled because of extreme rarity (5 or fewer occurrences, or very few remaining individuals), or because of some factor of its biology making it especially vulnerable to extinction. (Critically endangered throughout its range).
NCGR:
Management Needs: Conserve remaining habitat of clouded copper. Consider habitat rehabilitation and reintroduction.
Comments: NULL
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Verified Sightings
Displaying 49 - 72 of 395 verified sightings
Observation date: Jun 26, 2021
Submitted by: cklindsey
Region: San Bernardino County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Jun 27, 2021
Observation date: Jun 26, 2021
Submitted by: guy_incognito
Region: San Bernardino County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Jun 26, 2021
Observation date: May 28, 2021
Submitted by: sarabseth
Region: Santa Clara County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: May 29, 2021
Observation date: Jul 07, 2020
Submitted by: stevecary
Region: Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Nov 14, 2020
Observation date: Jul 06, 2020
Submitted by: jhintermeister
Region: Santa Clara County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Aug 13, 2020
Observation date: Aug 11, 2020
Submitted by: Rozelle Wright
Region: Sandoval County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Aug 13, 2020
Observation date: Aug 04, 2020
Submitted by: eppierce
Region: Lander County, Nevada, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Aug 09, 2020
Observation date: Jul 29, 2020
Submitted by: Lisahug
Region: Modoc County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Aug 02, 2020
Observation date: Jul 17, 2020
Submitted by: topper72
Region: Los Alamos County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Jul 19, 2020
Observation date: Jul 15, 2020
Submitted by: natvisions
Region: New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Jul 19, 2020
Observation date: Jul 14, 2020
Submitted by: Thomlinson
Region: Los Angeles County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Jul 15, 2020
Observation date: Jun 18, 2020
Submitted by: Brynne Bryan
Region: Los Angeles County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Jun 20, 2020
Observation date: Aug 02, 2019
Submitted by: stevecary
Region: New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Jan 30, 2020
Observation date: Aug 06, 2019
Submitted by: ncrosbyrd
Region: Gunnison County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: mikefisher
Verified date: Dec 31, 2019
Observation date: Jul 30, 2019
Submitted by: ncrosbyrd
Region: El Paso County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: mikefisher
Verified date: Dec 31, 2019
Observation date: Aug 04, 2019
Submitted by: Thomlinson
Region: Jefferson County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: mikefisher
Verified date: Oct 05, 2019
Observation date: Aug 17, 2019
Submitted by: Reneerob17
Region: Torrance County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Aug 22, 2019
Observation date: Aug 10, 2019
Submitted by: MAKI
Region: Nevada, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Aug 14, 2019
Observation date: Jul 20, 2019
Submitted by: Reneerob17
Region: Bernalillo County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Aug 01, 2019
Observation date: Jul 04, 2019
Submitted by: ezeemonee
Region: Los Angeles County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Jul 14, 2019
Observation date: Jun 19, 2019
Submitted by: ezeemonee
Region: Trinity County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Jun 27, 2019
Observation date: Aug 11, 2018
Submitted by: Scott Burgess
Region: Humboldt County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: May 29, 2019
Observation date: Aug 30, 2018
Submitted by: MAKI
Region: Inyo County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Sep 01, 2018
Observation date: Aug 06, 2018
Submitted by: Robert Gorman
Region: Mono County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Aug 15, 2018
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