Ruddy Copper
Lycaena rubidus (Behr, 1866)
Family: Lycaenidae
Subfamily: Lycaeninae
Identification: Upperside of male bright red-orange; female duller orange-brown to dark brown. Underside of both sexes gray-white to gray-yellow; hindwing with or without muted black spots.
Wing Span: 1 1/8 - 1 5/8 inches (2.9 - 4.1 cm).
Life History: Males perch in open areas and along streams or gulches to watch for females. Eggs are laid singly on or near the base of the host plant. Eggs hibernate.
Flight: One flight from June-July at lower elevations; from July-August at higher elevations.
Caterpillar Hosts: Dock (Rumex) species in the buckwheat family (Polygonaceae).
Adult Food: Flower nectar.
Habitat: Dry gravelly or sandy areas such as arid streamsides, sagebrush, scrub, dry fields, alluvial washes.
Range: British Columbia east to North Dakota; south to central California, and northern New Mexico.
Conservation: Not usually required. Nature Conservancy Rank: G-5, Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
NCGR:
Management Needs: None reported.
Comments: NULL
Alternate Scientific Names:
Lycaena rubida
BAMONA Shop
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 1 - 24 of 412 verified sightings
Observation date: Jun 15, 1985
Submitted by: papilio1
Region: Mono County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Apr 07, 2025
Observation date: Sep 13, 2006
Submitted by: papilio1
Region: Washoe County, Nevada, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Oct 09, 2024
Observation date: Aug 12, 2024
Submitted by: Cascade Colors
Region: Grand County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: mikefisher
Verified date: Sep 24, 2024
Observation date: Aug 04, 2024
Submitted by: Cascade Colors
Region: Grand County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: mikefisher
Verified date: Sep 07, 2024
Observation date: Jul 23, 2024
Submitted by: Cascade Colors
Region: Garfield County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: mikefisher
Verified date: Aug 26, 2024
Observation date: Jul 28, 2024
Submitted by: Cascade Colors
Region: Grand County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: mikefisher
Verified date: Aug 23, 2024
Observation date: Aug 02, 2024
Submitted by: Robert Gorman
Region: Summit County, Utah, United States
Verified by: James Steen
Verified date: Aug 16, 2024
Observation date: Jun 11, 2024
Submitted by: Cascade Colors
Region: Grand County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: mikefisher
Verified date: Jul 02, 2024
Observation date: Oct 08, 2023
Submitted by: rajanrao
Region: Alpine County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Oct 10, 2023
Observation date: Sep 18, 2023
Submitted by: Robert Gorman
Region: Mono County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Sep 21, 2023
Observation date: Jul 31, 2023
Submitted by: Canyon Wren
Region: Jefferson County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: mikefisher
Verified date: Sep 04, 2023
Observation date: Jul 27, 2009
Submitted by: easellers
Region: Salt Lake County, Utah, United States
Verified by: James Steen
Verified date: Sep 03, 2023
Observation date: Aug 09, 2023
Submitted by: Adam Schneider
Region: Harney County, Oregon, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Aug 16, 2023
Observation date: Jul 31, 2023
Submitted by: natureali
Region: Mono County, California, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Aug 07, 2023
Observation date: Aug 10, 2022
Submitted by: Christian.Nunes
Region: Boulder County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: mikefisher
Verified date: Feb 25, 2023
Observation date: Jul 20, 2020
Submitted by: dbrudin
Region: Mineral County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: mikefisher
Verified date: Sep 28, 2022
Observation date: Aug 18, 2022
Submitted by: Cascade Colors
Region: Jefferson County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: mikefisher
Verified date: Sep 05, 2022
Observation date: Aug 06, 2022
Submitted by: DeepSkyKelly
Region: Teller County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: mikefisher
Verified date: Sep 03, 2022
Observation date: Aug 03, 2022
Submitted by: Luna-Linuche.76
Region: Lake County, Oregon, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Aug 20, 2022
Observation date: Aug 03, 2022
Submitted by: Luna-Linuche.76
Region: Lake County, Oregon, United States
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: Aug 20, 2022
Observation date: Jul 20, 2022
Submitted by: Paul Prappas
Region: San Miguel County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: mikefisher
Verified date: Aug 14, 2022
Observation date: Jul 18, 2022
Submitted by: Paul Prappas
Region: San Juan County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: mikefisher
Verified date: Jul 31, 2022
Observation date: Jun 24, 2022
Submitted by: twofried
Region: Taos County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: stevecary
Verified date: Jul 02, 2022
Observation date: Jul 17, 2021
Submitted by: Christian.Nunes
Region: Grand County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: mikefisher
Verified date: Dec 29, 2021
- 1 of 18
- next ›