Stats

Lifespan: A few weeks
Size: Small
Diet: Herbivore
Activity: Diurnal
Social: Solitary
Biome: Temperate grassland
Range: Holarctic
Movement: Flight
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Camouflage
Status: Common

About

The Small Copper is a vivid copper-orange butterfly found across Europe, Asia, and North America on open sunny grasslands and roadsides. Males are fiercely territorial, launching aerial sorties from a favourite sun-warmed perch against any intruder — including much larger butterflies.

Life cycle

1.
egg
A tiny ribbed egg laid on the underside of a host-plant leaf, hatching within days.
2.
caterpillar
A voracious caterpillar feeds and molts through several instars, growing rapidly.
3.
chrysalis
A chrysalis hangs sealed and still while the body remodels into a winged adult.
4.
butterfly
A winged adult with full scales and coloration, ready to fly and mate.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Lycaenidae
Genus: Lycaena
Species: Lycaena phlaeas