| Small Copper (Lycaena phlaeas (Linnaeus, 1758)) |
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Scientific name: Lycaena phlaeas (Linnaeus, 1758) Common name: Small Copper French name: Cuivré commun Order: Lepidoptera Suborder: Rhopalocera Family: Lycaenidae Subfamily: Lycaeninae Wingspan: 24-36mm. Biotope: Unimproved grassland, heathland, coastal dunes, fallow land, road sides. It prefers warm and dry places. Geographic area: Europe, Mediterranean islands, North Africa, Asia to Japan, Eastern North America. Flight time: May to October. Number of generations : 2 or more. Caterpillar: Green with a slug-like shape. Host plant: Common Sorrel (Rumex acetosa), Sheep's Sorrel (Rumex acetosella) and Broad-leaved Dock (Rumex obtusifolius). |
The upper side of the Small Copper's forewings is copper coloured with black spots and a black band near the outer margin. The hind wings are dark brown with a copper coloured band near the hind margin. The underside of the forewings is coppery with small black dots. The underside of the hind wings is pale brown with black dots. Males defend their territory against any passing insect. There are used to always landing at the same place on bare ground or on a stone. Females are slightly larger than males and they are a duller colour. |
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I have done my first observation of female Large Copper (Lycaena dispar) in a water meadow of the Basse Vallée du Doubs in France, just after having shot this picture of a Small Copper. It took me several minutes to realize that I was dealing with two different species. |
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I have observed this Small Copper during a summer stay on the Mediterranean coast. |
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The sandy places on the "île d'Oléron" are a favourable habitat for Common Coppers. |
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Some Small Coppers close their wings as soon as you get close to them. This one was more cooperative and I could take a picture of the upper side of the wings. |
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Small Copper gathering nectar on an Umbelliferae flower. Other guys would have used the cloning stamp tool to erase the disgracious stems on the right of the picture. However, I forbid myself to perform this kind of post processing. |
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The only Small Copper I have observed in my garden at this date. |
André Bon November 2011