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 169 - 192 of 6493 verified sightings
Observation date: Jul 28, 2011
Submitted by: cjbruchman
Region: Sauk County, Wisconsin, United States
Verified by: Tom Middagh
Verified date: Oct 04, 2020
Observation date: Aug 17, 2020
Submitted by: lantana
Region: Suffolk County, New York, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 27, 2020
Observation date: Sep 13, 2020
Submitted by: Jgrugeon
Region: Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Sep 13, 2020
Observation date: Sep 11, 2020
Submitted by: Ed Rothwell
Region: Jackson County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 12, 2020
Observation date: Aug 31, 2020
Submitted by: MilkWeed18
Region: Cumberland County, Maine, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Sep 09, 2020
Observation date: Sep 07, 2020
Submitted by: Joseph Troy
Region: Cook County, Illinois, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Sep 07, 2020
Observation date: Oct 05, 2018
Submitted by: Paul Miller
Region: Hancock County, Maine, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Sep 02, 2020
Observation date: Jul 04, 2020
Submitted by: kristenej
Region: Westchester County, New York, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Aug 22, 2020
Observation date: Aug 20, 2020
Submitted by: Mark Plessner
Region: Lucas County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 20, 2020
Observation date: Jul 13, 2020
Submitted by: kristenej
Region: Westchester County, New York, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Aug 20, 2020
Observation date: Aug 08, 2020
Submitted by: Clare Holden
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Aug 15, 2020
Observation date: Aug 09, 2020
Submitted by: Cindy Kindle
Region: Hamilton County, New York, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Aug 15, 2020
Observation date: Jul 06, 2020
Submitted by: kristenej
Region: Westchester County, New York, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Aug 15, 2020
Observation date: Aug 08, 2020
Submitted by: gjkoppel
Region: Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Aug 09, 2020
Observation date: Jul 04, 2018
Submitted by: Doug Bruce
Region: Monroe County, Tennessee, United States
Verified by: dbruce
Verified date: Jul 25, 2020
Observation date: Jul 23, 2020
Submitted by: John Daugherty
Region: Benzie County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Jul 25, 2020
Observation date: Jul 17, 2020
Submitted by: schaarschmidt
Region: Lucas County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jul 24, 2020
Observation date: Jul 17, 2020
Submitted by: Ed Rothwell
Region: Ionia County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Jul 21, 2020
Observation date: Jul 20, 2020
Submitted by: Col
Region: Bradford County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Jul 21, 2020
Observation date: Jul 12, 2020
Submitted by: Mark Plessner
Region: Lucas County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jul 14, 2020
Observation date: Jul 13, 2020
Submitted by: MSEmbeck
Region: Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Jul 14, 2020
Observation date: Jun 27, 2020
Submitted by: Chris Blomme
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Jul 09, 2020
Observation date: Jul 03, 2020
Submitted by: Rjfischer
Region: Wayne County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Jul 05, 2020
Observation date: Jul 02, 2020
Submitted by: rapids
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Jul 02, 2020
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