American Copper

Since I've been showing Great Spangled Fritillaries this week, for Throwback Thursday let's dip into the photography archives to show a cool-looking butterfly from the past, an American Copper (aka Common Copper).

While the name might make you think I'm talking about a member of a US constabulary, the coppers are a subfamily of generally small butterflies. Though one source claimed they are an introduced species, most sources suggest it's more of an international butterfly than an invasive one. Similar to the Red Admiral and Painted Lady, it appears to be native to not just North America but also Eurasia and much of Africa. Though the species may be found across much of the world, its numerous subspecies tend to be more localized.

Though it's a fairly colorful butterfly it's easy to overlook due to its diminutive size. If you're familiar with the Spring/Summer Azures, they're approximately that size. When I got my pictures, I wasn't sure what I had gotten pictures of until looking at the at home.

It sounds like they frequently rest with their wings open, though my pictures were all of them with closed wings. The good thing about that is that the underside of the wings is more useful for identification; the bad thing is that you don't appreciate the coppery coloring as well when seeing the underside of the wings.

It's believed that ants help to raise American Copper caterpillars, protecting them and possibly herding them so that the ants will be able to harvest a sweet secretion these caterpillars produce. (This is very similar to the mutualism displayed by ants and aphids.

June 19, 2019 at the Willowwood Arboretum
Photo 43669056, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tussock Moth Herd

Image
Some caterpillars are usually seen in large numbers (like Armyworm Moth caterpillars and Eastern Tent Caterpillars ), while most are more solitary. The Milkweed Tussock Moth caterpillars (more about them are here ) seem to be slightly social. I'll sometimes see them alone, but more often I'll see them in groups of 2-9 members. In the 1st picture below, you can see there is a clear size difference in some of these individuals. I'm almost certain the little one in the middle is in an earlier instar than the others (though they lack the colorful tufts of fuzz in their earliest instars). August 31, 2021 at Washington Valley Park Photo 167477945, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) In the picture below, it's clear that these caterpillars don't require a lot of personal space. August 31, 2021 at Washington Valley Park Photo 167477979, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
Read more

Copper Underwing Caterpillar

Image
I believe this caterpillar to be a Copper Underwing [1]. At least the coloring and the dorsal hump (near the left end of the caterpillar) seem consistent with the Copper Underwing. These caterpillars are not what you'd consider picky eaters; my Caterpillars of Eastern North America describes their diet thusly: Many wooded plants including apple, basswood, blueberry, cherry chestnut, current, grape, greenbrier, hawthorn, hickory, lilac, maple, oak, poplar, raspberry, rhododendron, viburnum, Virginia creeper, and walnut. Wikipedia adds: Ash, privet, honeysuckle, rose, and service trees. That's a pretty wide range of trees and shrubs. One of the challenges of finding them is that they could be almost anywhere; the other challenges are: Their green coloring blends in pretty darned well with the average leaf. They have a habit of feeding underneath leaves, so they're probably not visible when looking down at their location. They have a tendency to move from leaf-to-leaf; if you
Read more

Eastern Pondhawks

Image
I'm going to try something different today with my Eastern Pondhawk pictures. I'm going to let ChatGPT do my blog today. (ChatGPT is an AI program that you can converse with in a pretty human way; an explanation of it is here .) Me:  Can you tell me something interesting about the Eastern Pondhawk? ChatGPT:  The Eastern Pondhawk (Erythemis simplicicollis) is a dragonfly species that is native to North America. It is a medium-sized dragonfly, with a wingspan of about 3 inches, and can be found in a variety of habitats, including wetlands, marshes, and ponds. One interesting characteristic of the Eastern Pondhawk is its mating behavior. Male Eastern Pondhawks are known for their territorial behavior and will defend their territory from other males. They will patrol their territory and will try to mate with any females that fly into their territory. Another interesting fact about the Eastern Pondhawk is that it is a fast flyer and is able to hover in midair. It is also an import
Read more