American Copper
Lycaena phlaeas

f25 @ 1/400s, ISO:2000, Nikon D3S w 105mm macro

"Lycaena phlaeas," Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Lycaena phlaeas, the small copper, American copper, or common copper, is a butterfly of the Lycaenids or gossamer-winged butterfly family.The upperside forewings are a bright orange with a dark outside edge border and with eight or nine black spots. The hindwings are dark with an orange border. Some females also have a row of blue spots inside the orange border and are known as form caeruleopunctata. The undersides are patterned in a similar way but are paler. The black spots on the forewings are outlined in yellow and the dark coloring is replaced by a pale brownish grey. The hindwings are the same brown/grey color with small black dots and a narrow orange border. The caterpillars (larvae) are usually green, but some have a purple stripe down the middle of the back and along each side. It is a Holarctic species, widespread and common across Europe, Asia, North America, and also found in North Africa south through to Ethiopia.

Francis A. Crane Wildlife Management Area, East Falmouth, Massachusetts

05/27/2020