Small copper
The small copper is a little butterfly with bright, shiny orange front wings dotted with black spots. Its back wings are dark with an orange edge. It may be small, but it is very brave and chases away anything that flies into its patch.
How fast is it?
Fun facts
The males guard a small sunny patch and chase off rivals and other insects. Even the shadow of a big bird flying over can make them take off.
The young caterpillar eats the underside of a leaf but leaves the top skin, making see-through little windows.
Ants are thought to look after its pupa in the leaf litter.
Some females have a row of blue spots on their back wings.
It spends the winter as a caterpillar.
Most asked questions about Small copper
?What does the small copper eat?
The butterfly drinks nectar, and its caterpillars eat sorrel leaves.
?Where can I see a small copper?
In sunny, open places such as meadows, heaths, forest clearings and even churchyards and city wasteland.
?Why is it called the small copper?
Because it is small and its front wings shine bright orange like copper.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Lycaena phlaeas
- Named by
- Linnaeus, 1761
- Group
- Butterflies
- Family
- Lycaenidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Lycaenidae
- Lives on
- Europe, Asia, North America, Africa
- Also known as
- American copper, Common copper
Where the facts come from
- Lycaena phlaeas (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Charles J. Sharp. CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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