Large Copper

Lycaena dispar

The Large Copper is a beautiful butterfly with bright orange wings and black spots. It loves to flutter around in sunny meadows and wetlands, making it a lovely sight to see!

Habitat: Wetlands

Appearance

The Large Copper has brilliant, iridescent coppery-orange forewings with small black spots, contrasting with duller brown hindwings often bordered in orange. Its underside is a mosaic of grey-brown with black spots and orange patches, making it visually distinct from most other butterflies.

KingdomAnimaliaPhylumArthropodaClassInsectaOrderLepidopteraFamilyLycaenidaeGenusLycaena

Large Copper

Interesting facts

Its caterpillar stage spends winter as a tiny, hidden larva on a sorrel plant, waiting for spring to grow!

Male Large Coppers are much brighter and more vividly orange than females, showing off their dazzling colors.

This butterfly famously went extinct in Britain, but was brought back using butterflies from the Netherlands!

Young Large Coppers have a special scent that attracts certain ants, who sometimes protect them from other insects!

Special abilities

Large Copper larvae have green bodies that help them blend perfectly with the sorrel leaves they eat, avoiding hungry predators.

Large Copper can quickly find specific wetland flowers because of their excellent eyesight, which helps them collect energy-rich nectar.

The Large Copper has strong wings and a quick flight, allowing it to dart away from threats and cover ground efficiently.

Measurements & details

Wingspan: 30-45 mm
Size: 15-20 mm
Lifespan: 15-30 days
Flight Speed: 18 km/h
Leg Count: 6

Diet & Feeding

Adults sip flower nectar; caterpillars munch on specialized wetland plants.

Age differences: Larvae eat plant leaves, while adults exclusively drink flower nectar.

Primary Foods

Water Mint nectar
Hemp-agrimony nectar
Great Water Dock leaves
Common Sorrel leaves

Foraging Method

Foraging

Ecological connections

eats

Great Water Dock

Rumex hydrolapathum

Larvae feed on its leaves.

pollinates

Water Mint

Mentha aquatica

Adults drink nectar and transfer pollen.

eaten by

House Sparrow

Passer domesticus

Birds are common predators of adult butterflies.

Traits

Spotted

Marked with spots or patches of a different color.

Solitary

Solitary animals live alone for most of their lives, only interacting with others for mating or parental care.

Colorful

Colorful describes organisms or objects displaying a wide range of bright and distinct colors.

Herbivorous

This trait characterizes organisms whose diet consists entirely or primarily of plant material.

Pollinator Magnet

Describes plants that are particularly attractive and beneficial to a wide range of pollinating organisms.

Wetland

This habitat trait identifies species found in wetlands, which are areas of land saturated with water, either permanently or seasonally, including marshes, swamps, and bogs.