| Purple-edged Copper (Lycaena hippothoe (Linnaeus, 1761)) |
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Scientific name: Lycaena hippothoe (Linnaeus, 1761) Common name: Purple-edged Copper French name: Cuivré écarlate, Argus satiné changeant. Order: Lepidoptera Suborder: Rhopalocera Family: Lycaenidae Subfamily: Lycaeninae Wingspan: 32-38mm Biotope: Woodland edges, clearings, river banks and mountain damp meadows (starting at an altitude of 400 metres). Geographic area: North of Spain, Massif Central, and then from the Alps east to the Amur river in Asia. Flight time: June-July and July-September in case of a second brood. Number of generations : 2 generations in southern Europe, only 1 north and east of the range starting from central Europe. Caterpillar: Green with dense and short whitish hairs. Host plant: Rumex sp. |
Male Purple-edged Coppers have orange red upper side of the wings with a dark brown to purple border along the costal edge and the margin of the fore wings and more extended on the hind wings. The upper side of the fore wings is marked with a small black discal spot which is not always visible. Females are variable depending on subspecies. The upper side of the wings is darker and browner than on males. The upper side of the fore wings bears a curved post discal row of small black spots. The under side of the wings is similar on both sexes. It is grey beige with variable orange areas. It is ornated with black dots circled with white. The wings are bordered by a white fringe. Purple-edged Coppers over winter as caterpillars at an intermediate development stage. You can recognize the Scarce Copper species (Lycaena virgaureae) by the underside of the hind wings which is more orange coloured and which bears white spots in the post discal area. The fringe of the wings is more greyish or yellowish than on Purple-edged Coppers. |
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I had first thought to the Scarce Copper species but the pure white fringe and the numerous Purple-edged Coppers observed in the surroundings made me change my mind. |
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Here is one male which unfortunately did not present his best profile. You cannot see any white marking on the underside of the hind wings. |
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Under side view of the wings. |
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It has been easier to shoot pictures of the female. I had just to lift my finger ;-) |
André Bon May 2017