Sooty Copper

Lycaena tityrus

The Sooty Copper is a small butterfly with beautiful orange and black wings. It loves to flutter around flowers and can often be seen in sunny places during warm days.

Lebensraum: Grasslands

Aussehen

The Sooty Copper is a small butterfly with dark, brownish-black upper wings that can appear almost sooty. Males have a subtle copper-orange sheen, while females display distinct orange spots near the outer edges. Its underside is pale, often with small black spots.

ReichAnimaliaStammArthropodaKlasseInsectaOrdnungLepidopteraFamilieLycaenidaeGattungLoweia

Sooty Copper

Kategorie

Insekten

Seltenheit

Common

Gefahr

1/5 · Sehr gering

Snaps

Mach den ersten Snap!

Interessante Fakten

Its caterpillars are masters of disguise, blending perfectly with their food plants!

Male Sooty Coppers 'dance' in the air to attract a mate, circling each other swiftly!

Sooty Copper caterpillars have a fuzzy, velvety appearance, quite different from their adult form!

These butterflies have tiny scales on their wings that give them their unique metallic sheen!

Besondere Fähigkeiten

Sooty Copper can warm its body using sun-basking because it helps them become active and fly even on cooler days.

Sooty Copper has a long, coiled proboscis that helps them sip sweet nectar deep within flowers, fueling their flights.

Sooty Copper can taste plants with its feet because it helps them find the perfect leaves for laying eggs.

Maße und Details

Flügelspannweite: 25-30 mm
Größe: 10-18 mm
Lebenserwartung: 10-20 Tage
Fluggeschwindigkeit: 8 km/h
Anzahl der Beine: 6

Ernährung und Fütterung

Adults sip nectar from flowers, while caterpillars munch on leaves to grow big!

Altersunterschiede: Caterpillars eat plant leaves, but adults drink sweet flower nectar using a straw-like proboscis.

Hauptnahrung

Nectar
Rumex acetosella (Sheep's Sorrel)
Rumex acetosa (Common Sorrel)

Nahrungssuche

Foraging

Ökologische Zusammenhänge

eats

Sheep's Sorrel

Rumex acetosella

Larvae feed on the leaves of this plant.

eaten by

Great Tit

Parus major

Adult butterflies can be prey for small birds.

parasitizes

Braconid Wasp

Microplitis mediator

Wasps lay eggs inside Sooty Copper caterpillars.

Merkmale

Einzelgänger

Einzelgänger leben den größten Teil ihres Lebens allein und interagieren mit Artgenossen nur zur Paarung oder zur Aufzucht der Jungen.

Bestäubermagnet

Beschreibt Pflanzen, die für eine Vielzahl von bestäubenden Organismen besonders attraktiv und nützlich sind.

Farbenfroh

Farbenfroh beschreibt Organismen oder Objekte, die eine große Vielfalt an leuchtenden und deutlich erkennbaren Farben aufweisen.

Grasland

Grasland-Lebensräume sind terrestrische Biome, die von Gräsern und krautigen Pflanzen dominiert werden und einer Vielzahl von Weidetieren als Lebensraum dienen.