American Copper
Lycaena phlaeas (Linnaeus, 1761)
Family: Lycaenidae
Subfamily: Lycaeninae
Identification: Upper surface of forewing shiny, fiery orange-red with black spots; hindwing gray with orange-red outer margin. Underside gray; hindwing with submarginal row of orange-red zigzags.
Wing Span: 7/8 - 1 3/8 inches (2.2 - 3.5 cm).
Life History: Males perch on grass or weeds to look for females. Eggs are laid singly on host plant stems or leaves. Young caterpillars chew holes in the underside of leaves; older ones make channels in the leaf tissue. Chrysalids overwinter.
Flight: One flight from July-September for alpine and arctic populations. Two flights in the north from June-July and August-September; three flights in the south from April-September.
Caterpillar Hosts: Herbs of the buckwheat (Polygonaceae) family including sheep sorrel (Rumex acetosella), curled dock (Rumex crispus), and Oxyria digyna.
Adult Food: Nectar from many flowers including common buttercup, white clover, butterflyweed, yarrow, ox-eye daisy, and various composites.
Habitat: In disturbed places in the East including pastures, landfills, vacant lots, road edges, old fields; rocky places in alpine habitats, and tundra in the arctic.
Range: Nova Scotia south to Georgia, Tennessee, and Arkansas; west across Great Lake states to North Dakota. Native populations found in the Arctic and the western mountains. Comments: Eastern and midwest populations probably result from an introduction from Scandinavia during the colonial period.
Conservation: Not usually required.
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management Needs: None reported.
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Verified Sightings
Displaying 361 - 384 of 6497 verified sightings
Observation date: Jul 17, 2015
Submitted by: Lutya
Region: Albany County, New York, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Jul 18, 2015
Observation date: Jun 05, 2015
Submitted by: Sue Orlowski
Region: Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: sharonstichter2
Verified date: Jul 13, 2015
Observation date: Jul 09, 2015
Submitted by: Intrinsic3141
Region: Suffolk County, New York, United States
Verified by: reutere
Verified date: Jul 09, 2015
Observation date: Jul 09, 2015
Submitted by: Intrinsic3141
Region: Suffolk County, New York, United States
Verified by: reutere
Verified date: Jul 09, 2015
Observation date: Jul 07, 2015
Submitted by: ramonabearor
Region: Saratoga County, New York, United States
Verified by: reutere
Verified date: Jul 08, 2015
Observation date: Jul 07, 2007
Submitted by: Joe Saunders
Region: Mercer County, West Virginia, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Jul 02, 2015
Observation date: Jun 17, 2015
Submitted by: cblazo
Region: Franklin County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Jun 18, 2015
Observation date: Jun 17, 2015
Submitted by: Cherylee Black
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Jun 17, 2015
Observation date: Jun 10, 2015
Submitted by: HHowell
Region: Grainger County, Tennessee, United States
Verified by: dbruce
Verified date: Jun 10, 2015
Observation date: May 23, 2015
Submitted by: Doug Bruce
Region: Unicoi County, Tennessee, United States
Verified by: S. J. Stedman
Verified date: May 24, 2015
Observation date: Sep 12, 2012
Submitted by: Allen Belden
Region: Sussex County, Virginia, United States
Verified by: richardhsmith
Verified date: Mar 19, 2015
Observation date: Jul 05, 1979
Submitted by: Indy Entomologist
Region: White County, Indiana, United States
Verified by: Howell_Curtis
Verified date: Feb 20, 2015
Observation date: Aug 26, 2014
Submitted by: gmill711
Region: Goodhue County, Minnesota, United States
Verified by: Tom Middagh
Verified date: Nov 20, 2014
Observation date: Sep 19, 2014
Submitted by: sefmgmt
Region: Cape May County, New Jersey, United States
Verified by: Will Kerling
Verified date: Sep 24, 2014
Observation date: Sep 21, 2014
Submitted by: cblazo
Region: Franklin County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Sep 21, 2014
Observation date: Sep 19, 2014
Submitted by: S. J. Stedman
Region: Barren County, Kentucky, United States
Verified by: S. J. Stedman
Verified date: Sep 21, 2014
Observation date: Aug 07, 2014
Submitted by: monteuxgallery
Region: Hancock County, Maine, United States
Verified by: anthony.thomas
Verified date: Sep 17, 2014
Observation date: Jul 22, 2014
Submitted by: Jacksenzig
Region: Juneau County, Wisconsin, United States
Verified by: Tom Middagh
Verified date: Sep 14, 2014
Observation date: Sep 08, 2014
Submitted by: John429
Region: Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 10, 2014
Observation date: Aug 24, 2014
Submitted by: Colleen62
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 02, 2014
Observation date: Aug 17, 2014
Submitted by: rocksnstars
Region: Oxford County, Maine, United States
Verified by: anthony.thomas
Verified date: Aug 31, 2014
Observation date: Aug 23, 2014
Submitted by: rocksnstars
Region: Oxford County, Maine, United States
Verified by: anthony.thomas
Verified date: Aug 31, 2014
Observation date: Sep 02, 2013
Submitted by: jwilkinson
Region: Frederick County, Maryland, United States
Verified by: richardhsmith
Verified date: Aug 16, 2014
Observation date: Aug 08, 2014
Submitted by: Cherylee Black
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Aug 10, 2014
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