Windwolf
Crex Meadows Butterflies... American Copper
American Copper
Lycaena phlaeas
Wing span: 7/8 - 1 3/8 inches (2.2 - 3.5 cm).
Caterpillar hosts: Buckwheat (Polygonaceae) and curly dock (Rumex crispus) and Oxyria digyna.
Eggs are laid singly on plants. Chrysalids.
Two broods per season is common.
Habitat: Disturbed areas including road edges and old fields.
In Crex Meadows, most of my encounters with the American Coppers have been directly on road surfaces.
The most numbers of American coppers I have seen occured in 2008 when they were in many places around the meadows. My records at that time didnt include daily numbers, as the goal then was just basically recording a species sighting.
Picture taken May 22, 2009
In 2009 we did not see as many American Coppers, but they were still present on Crex Meadows.
Picture taken July 11, 2009
| Kingdom | Animalia | (Animals) |
| Phylum | Arthropoda | (Arthropods) |
| Superclass | Hexapoda | (Hexapods) |
| Class | Insecta | (Insects) |
| Subclass | Pterygota | (Winged Insects) |
| Order | Lepidoptera | (Butterflies and Moths) |
| Superfamily | Papilionoidea | (Butterflies) |
| Family | Lycaenidae | (Gossamer Winged Butterflies) |
| Subfamily | Lycaeninae | (Coppers) |
| Genus | Lycaena | |
| Species | phlaeas | (American Copper) |
The American Copper may be confused with the Bronze copper when viewing open winged. The American coppers wide margin band on the hindwing stops short of the full border.
From below, the American copper has a much narrower orange line which is more like the Purplish copper. The American copper forewing below has a much more defined gray tip than the lighter markings of the purplish copper.
Compare the Coppers for ID differences Here
