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.
Please donate!
We depend on donations to keep Butterflies and Moths of North America freely available. We want to express our gratitude to all who showed their support by making a contribution this year. You can donate to support this project at any time.
Advertise with us!
Do you have a product or service that you think would interest BAMONA users? If you would like to advertise on this website, contact us by email, or use the contact form and select the "Advertising" category.
Verified Sightings
Displaying 217 - 240 of 6493 verified sightings
Observation date: Sep 15, 2019
Submitted by: Tony DeSantis
Region: Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Sep 17, 2019
Observation date: Sep 07, 2019
Submitted by: Ed Rothwell
Region: Ingham County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 08, 2019
Observation date: Sep 04, 2019
Submitted by: beastbreath
Region: Saginaw County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Sep 05, 2019
Observation date: Aug 15, 2019
Submitted by: tjunderwood
Region: Warren County, New York, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Aug 25, 2019
Observation date: Aug 06, 2019
Submitted by: rhedden
Region: Washington County, New York, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Aug 09, 2019
Observation date: Jul 18, 2014
Submitted by: Craig M Lipski
Region: Livingston County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Aug 06, 2019
Observation date: Jul 06, 2019
Submitted by: tjunderwood
Region: Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Aug 03, 2019
Observation date: Jul 11, 2017
Submitted by: Mapper
Region: Barry County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Aug 01, 2019
Observation date: Jul 26, 2019
Submitted by: Ed Rothwell
Region: Newaygo County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Jul 29, 2019
Observation date: Jul 24, 2019
Submitted by: birdfancier420
Region: St. Joseph County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Jul 26, 2019
Observation date: Jul 13, 2019
Submitted by: ra.mercer
Region: Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Jul 15, 2019
Observation date: Jul 14, 2019
Submitted by: Mark Plessner
Region: Lucas County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jul 14, 2019
Observation date: Jun 24, 2019
Submitted by: Ssneed
Region: Otsego County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Jul 12, 2019
Observation date: Sep 14, 2018
Submitted by: pmrules21
Region: Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States
Verified by: Will Kerling
Verified date: Jul 05, 2019
Observation date: May 13, 2013
Submitted by: Allen B
Region: Sussex County, New Jersey, United States
Verified by: Will Kerling
Verified date: Jul 05, 2019
Observation date: Apr 12, 2019
Submitted by: tom nolan
Region: Cape May County, New Jersey, United States
Verified by: Will Kerling
Verified date: Jul 05, 2019
Observation date: Jun 15, 2019
Submitted by: tom nolan
Region: Cape May County, New Jersey, United States
Verified by: Will Kerling
Verified date: Jul 05, 2019
Observation date: Jun 09, 2019
Submitted by: Birder13
Region: Genesee County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Jun 09, 2019
Observation date: Jun 13, 2018
Submitted by: Christine Stanke
Region: Portage County, Wisconsin, United States
Verified by: Tom Middagh
Verified date: Feb 27, 2019
Observation date: Jun 12, 2018
Submitted by: Christine Stanke
Region: Portage County, Wisconsin, United States
Verified by: Tom Middagh
Verified date: Feb 27, 2019
Observation date: Aug 01, 2008
Submitted by: hydapse
Region: Park County, Wyoming, United States
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: Feb 12, 2019
Observation date: Sep 06, 2018
Submitted by: gbw
Region: Washburn County, Wisconsin, United States
Verified by: Tom Middagh
Verified date: Dec 06, 2018
Observation date: Nov 18, 2018
Submitted by: StaceyTavarez
Region: Grainger County, Tennessee, United States
Verified by: dbruce
Verified date: Nov 22, 2018
Observation date: Sep 22, 2018
Submitted by: Cameala
Region: Juniata County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: davidwright
Verified date: Oct 18, 2018
- ‹ previous
- 10 of 271
- next ›