Lycaena dione

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Grey copper
Lycaena dione.jpg
Lycaena dione1.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Lycaenidae
Genus: Lycaena
Species:
L. dione
Binomial name
Lycaena dione
(Scudder, 1868) [1]
Synonyms
  • Chrysophanus dioneScudder, 1868
  • Gaeides dione

Lycaena dione, the grey copper or great copper, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. The species was first described by Samuel Hubbard Scudder in 1868. It is found from the southern Prairie provinces of Canada and western Ontario south to Texas and east to Illinois and Missouri. There is a disjunct population in southern British Columbia. [2] A remnant population was found in the Willamette Valley, Oregon, as of the summer of 2004. [3]

The wingspan is 24–38 mm. Adults are on wing from mid-June to July or August. They feed on the nectar of Cirsium , Medicago sativa , Grindelia species and Melilotus species.

The larval host plants are Rumex salicifolius, Rumex crispus and Rumex occidentalis .

Taxonomy

Lycaena dione is sometimes treated as a subspecies of Lycaena xanthoides . [4]

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hermes copper</span> Species of butterfly

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<i>Lycaena dorcas</i> Species of butterfly

Lycaena dorcas is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae, the gossamer-winged butterflies. Its common names include dorcas copper and cinquefoil copper. The species was first described by William Kirby in 1837. It is native to North America. The species L. dospassosi was once included in L. dorcas.

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<i>Lycaena arota</i> Species of butterfly

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<i>Lycaena helloides</i> Species of butterfly

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<i>Lycaena cuprea</i> Species of butterfly

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<i>Lycaena rubidus</i> Species of butterfly

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The blue copper, also known as Lycaena heteronea, is an American butterfly that belongs to the gossamer-winged family. The butterfly is named so because of the bright blue hue of the upper side of the males' wings. Females are brown on their upper side. Both sexes are white with black spots on the underside of the wings. Blue coppers are seen on the west coast of the United States and the southwest region of Canada, particularly British Columbia and Alberta. The males are often confused with Boisduval’s blue, another species of butterfly. Blue coppers prefer to live in areas where species of Eriogonum are found. Blue copper larvae sometimes form mutualistic associations with Formica francoeuri, an ant species.

<i>Lycaena boldenarum</i> Species of butterfly

Lycaena boldenarum, the boulder copper, is a species of butterfly which is endemic to New Zealand, it is found on both North Island and South Island in a wide variety of open habitats including grassland, shingle and sand dunes. They are normally only active in bright sunny conditions and their flight is usually low to the ground. The boldenarum part of the species name given by the Scottish entomologist Adam White in honour of his first wife, Helen and her sister Frances, whose maiden name was Bolden. It shares the Maori name pepe para riki with two congeners the common copper and the glade copper.

<i>Lycaena bleusei</i> Species of butterfly

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References

  1. Lycaena at Markku Savela's website on Lepidoptera
  2. Schmidt, B. C. "Species Details Lycaena dione". University of Alberta Museums. E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  3. "Great Copper butterfly". Oregonstate.edu. Retrieved 2020-01-02.
  4. Bug Guide