Butterflies of
Britain & Europe
Small Copper
Lycaena phlaeas
LINNAEUS, 1761
Family - LYCAENIDAE
subfamily -
LYCAENINAE
introduction
|
habitats |
lifecycle |
adult behaviour
|
 |
|
Small Copper
Lycaena phlaeas, Magdalen Hill Down, Hampshire |
Introduction
The Small Copper
is a very widespread species, occurring in Canada, the eastern United
States,
the Canary Isles, almost all of Europe including sub-arctic areas
of Scandinavia, and across temperate Asia as far east
as Japan.
It
also occurs across much of Africa ( with the exceptions of deserts
and rainforests ), from the Atlas mountains and
north African grasslands, south to Kenya and Malawi, where the
usual copper colour is replaced by a golden yellow, which extends across
the hindwings.
Elsewhere the butterflies adhere more closely in
appearance to the insect illustrated above, although there is some
variation in the size of the black spots and the width of the dark
borders. First brood specimens are generally larger and brighter,
and sometimes have a row of tiny sapphire blue spots on the
upperside hindwings - this form is known as
caeruleapunctata.
|
 |
|
Small Copper
Lycaena phlaeas, 2nd brood female,
ab. caeruleapunctata,
Stockbridge Down |
In
September 2009, I was very lucky to be able to see and
photograph a very beautiful aberration, known as
ab. schmidtii, which is caused by
the appearance of a recessive gene.
No photograph can do justice to the butterfly, whose shining
silvery-white wings reflect iridescent hues of green, blue, yellow
or orange when seen at certain angles in bright sunlight.
|
 |
|
Small Copper
Lycaena phlaeas, 3rd brood male,
ab. schmidtii, Surrey |
The
Small Copper
cannot be mistaken for any other British butterfly. In Europe
however there are several other Lycaena
species - females of hippothoe
and tityrus are both
similar to phlaeas, so a good
field guide is a necessity for less experienced butterfly
watchers.
Habitats
In the British Isles the Small Copper occurs in many different habitats
including heaths, chalk and limestone grasslands, sand dunes, cliff tops, railway
embankments, old quarries, woodland rides and clearings, hay meadows, pastures and almost anywhere
else where the larval foodplants grow.
The butterflies tend to be localised within each habitat. They usually breed in
sheltered hollows, or at the bottom of sunny slopes, where vegetation is sparse,
and areas of bare ground are available for basking.
|
 |
|
Small Copper
Lycaena phlaeas, 3rd brood male, Stockbridge Down,
Hampshire |
Lifecycle
In Britain and
most of Europe the Small Copper normally produces 2 or 3 broods a year,
depending on locality and weather conditions. There is little
synchrony between sites however, with the result that the butterfly
can be seen at anytime from early April until late October. The 2nd
& 3rd broods are always more numerous than the 1st, and can
produce populations of 200 or more adults at the best sites in
southern England. In
northern Scandinavia the species is single-brooded. In the
Canary Islands and north Africa it is continuously
brooded, producing 5 or more generations a year.
The
eggs look like tiny white golf balls, and are usually laid on sheep's
sorrel Rumex acetosella or common sorrel R. acetosa, but I have also watched the butterflies oviposit on
curled dock R. crispus, broad-leaved dock
R. obtusifolius, clustered dock R. conglomeratus
and wood dock R. sanguineus.
The plants selected are always in sheltered sunlit positions,
often at the base of hills. Typically a female will hop about exploring the
edges of rabbit scrapes or other areas of bare soil until she finds a
suitable plant. She will lay a single egg on the midrib of the upper
surface of a leaf, and then move on to search for another plant. Sometimes a
particular leaf will attract several different females, or be used on repeat
visits by a single female : In October 2009, I made a search of dock and sorrel
leaves at a site in West Sussex. I found that small leaves of clustered dock
which had turned red with the approach of autumn had up to 5 eggs laid on each,
but that healthy green leaves on the same plants were barren. Furthermore, none
of the numerous common sorrel plants on the same sunlit patch of ground bore a
single egg.
After
laying perhaps a dozen eggs on various plants females go into "nectaring
mode", and spend several minutes visiting flowers in the vicinity. This is
usually followed by a resting phase during which they bask on vegetation or
on bare ground before resuming egg-laying.
|
 |
|
Small Copper
Lycaena phlaeas, ovipositing on sorrel, Stockbridge
Down, Hampshire |
The
caterpillars are nocturnal. When young they feed on the lower cuticle of the
leaves, leaving small characteristic curved grooves which are visible from
above. When older they nibble small oval holes out of the leaves, and turning
over suspicious looking leaves often reveals the plump green larva beneath.
The
progeny of the final brood of the season hibernate as 2nd or 3rd instar larvae
at the base of the foodplants. These larvae awaken in early spring to resume feeding,
and pupate in late March.
In
captivity, the larva when ready to pupate, attaches itself with a silk girdle to dead leaves around
the base of the foodplant. Whilst it probably also attaches itself to leaf
litter in the wild, it is likely that it would wander some distance away from
the foodplant to pupate. The pupa is pale olive brown, shiny, with darker speckling.
The pupal stage lasts about 3 weeks.
Adult behaviour
|
 |
|
Small Copper
Lycaena phlaeas, 1st brood male,
Martin Down NNR, Hampshire |
In spring
the butterflies often bask on bare ground, periodically visiting
various wild flowers for nectar. They strongly favour daisies in
preference to other nectar sources, but also visit ground ivy,
dandelions, buttercups and blackthorn blossom. Summer brood
adults visit fleabane, ragwort, yarrow, marjoram and small
scabious.
Males are territorial, and
immediately fly up to chase any small insect which enters their
domain. If a male intercepts another male, the pair engage in a
frenetic battle, twisting and spiralling in tight circles until
one of them throws in the towel and flies off. Often a male
intercepts a female that has landed on a flower - if she has
already mated she signals her unreceptiveness by rapidly
fluttering her half-open wings, while walking rapidly down the
stem to the base of the plant. The male usually accepts this
rejection signal and flies off in search of another female.
When a virgin female
is intercepted, a very rapid zigzag chase takes place, and the
female then immediately settles among grasses, or on the foliage
of a bush, where copulation takes place. I have often found
copulated Small Coppers in late morning and early afternoon. The
butterflies are reluctant to fly while copulated, preferring to
remain
on flower heads or foliage, with the wings of both sexes held half open.
In dull weather and at night the
butterflies roost singly on low herbage, grass heads or flower
heads, either sitting upright, or in a head-downwards posture.
|
 |
|
Small Copper
Lycaena phlaeas, female, Cissbury
Ring, Sussex |
|
