| Bathurst copper | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Lycaenidae |
| Genus: | Paralucia |
| Species: | P. spinifera |
| Binomial name | |
| Paralucia spinifera W.H. Edwards & Common, 1978 | |
Paralucia spinifera, commonly known as the Bathurst copper or purple copper, is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is endemic to Australia.
The body is relatively thick. The wingspan is of 20–30 mm. The upper sides of its wings are copper-colored and have a purple, blue, and green iridescence when in the sunlight. The undersides of the wings are patterned with brown, black, and gray. Its black antennae are dotted with white spots, and end with a black tip.
The habitat of the purple copper butterfly is found primarily in altitudes above 900 m (3000 ft), and are generally seen with exposure to the full day sun (often with a west to north appearance), and with extremes of cold such as regular winter snowfalls or heavy frosts where it feeds on a form of blackthorn.
The butterflies emerge between August (later at higher altitude sites) and November, with a two-week peak of activity in September. After mating, the female oviposits eggs on or near the area of Bursaria spinosa subsp. lasiophylla . After hatching, the larva is attended by the ant A. itinerans which is thought to offer the larva predator protection and receive nutritional secretions from the larva.
The Bathurst copper butterfly is considered endangered in NSW and is listed on Schedule 1 of the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995 (TSC Act). The Bathurst copper butterfly is also listed nationally as a vulnerable species under section 178 of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).
Current threats to the Bathurst copper butterfly include clearing and development, weed invasion, grazing, and changes in controlled burn procedures.
A threatened species is any species which is vulnerable to extinction in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of critical depensation, a mathematical measure of biomass related to population growth rate. This quantitative metric is one method of evaluating the degree of endangerment without direct reference to human activity.
Swallowtail butterflies are large, colorful butterflies in the family Papilionidae, and include over 550 species. Though the majority are tropical, members of the family inhabit every continent except Antarctica. The family includes the largest butterflies in the world, the birdwing butterflies of the genus Ornithoptera.
The Apollo or mountain Apollo, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae.
Threatened fauna of Australia are those species and subspecies of birds, fish, frogs, insects, mammals, molluscs, crustaceans, and reptiles to be found in Australia that are in danger of becoming extinct. This article lists species classified as threatened species under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
The heath fritillary is a species of butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found throughout the Palaearctic from western Europe to Japan, in heathland, grassland, and in coppiced woodland. Its association with coppiced woodland earned it the name "woodman's follower" in parts of the UK. It is considered a threatened species in the UK and Germany, but not Europe-wide or globally.
The small mountain ringlet or mountain ringlet is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in mountainous regions of southern and central Europe.
Ornithoptera alexandrae, the Queen Alexandra's birdwing, is the largest species of butterfly in the world, with females reaching wingspans slightly in excess of 25 cm to 28 cm. This birdwing is restricted to the forests of the Oro Province in eastern Papua New Guinea.
Battus philenor, the pipevine swallowtail or blue swallowtail, is a swallowtail butterfly found in North America and Central America. This butterfly is black with iridescent-blue hindwings. They are found in many different habitats, but are most commonly found in forests. Caterpillars are often black or red, and feed on compatible plants of the genus Aristolochia. They are known for sequestering acids from the plants they feed on in order to defend themselves from predators by being poisonous when consumed. The adults feed on the nectar of a variety of flowers. Some species of Aristolochia are toxic to the larvae, typically tropical varieties. While enthusiasts have led citizen efforts to conserve pipevine swallowtails in their neighborhoods on the West coast, the butterfly has not been the subject of a formal program in conservation or protected in legislation. The butterfly is however of "Special Concern" in Michigan, which is on the Northern limit of its range.
Teinopalpus imperialis, the Kaisar-i-Hind, is a rare species of swallowtail butterfly found from Nepal and north India east to north Vietnam. The common name literally means "emperor of India". The Kaisar-i-Hind is much sought after by butterfly collectors for its beauty and rarity. The green iridescence of the wings has been found to be due to three-dimensional photonic structure of the scales and is the subject of much research.
The yellow-footed rock-wallaby, formerly known as the ring-tailed rock-wallaby, is a member of the macropod family.
Parantica nilgiriensis, the Nilgiri tiger, is a butterfly found in the Western Ghats of India south of the Konkan. It belongs to the danaid group of the brush-footed butterflies family.
Grevillea acanthifolia, commonly known as the Acanthus-leaved grevillea, is a plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to New South Wales. It is a shrub with stiff, prickly, divided leaves and pink to purple "toothbrush" flowers.
The dusky large blue is a species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It is found in Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, and Ukraine.
Paralucia is a genus of butterflies endemic to Australia and belonging to the family Lycaenidae. The caterpillars feed on Bursaria and sometimes Pittosporum species and co-habit with ants of the genera Anonychomyrma and Notoncus.
The scarce fritillary is a species of butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, and Sweden. and East across the Palearctic to Mongolia.
The Ceylon tree nymph is a species of nymphalid butterfly in the subfamily Danainae. It is endemic to Sri Lanka. First described by John Westwood in 1848, the Ceylon tree nymph can be found in both wet and dry zones of Sri Lanka. It is the largest member of the family Danaidae in that country. It is listed as a near threatened species in the IUCN Red List.
Bursaria spinosa is a small tree or shrub in the family Pittosporaceae. The species occurs mainly in the eastern and southern half of Australia and not in Western Australia or the Northern Territory. Reaching 10 m (35 ft) high, it bears fragrant white flowers at any time of year but particularly in summer. A common understorey shrub of eucalyptus woodland, it colonises disturbed areas and fallow farmland. It is an important food plant for several species of butterflies and moths, particularly those of the genus Paralucia, and native bees.
Lycaena epixanthe, also known as the bog copper or cranberry-bog copper, is a North American species of butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. Adults like to sip drops of dew clinging to leaves and almost exclusively nectar on their host plant, cranberries. Because of this, bog coppers will spend their entire lives within the area of a single acid bog. Even though their flight is weak and close to the ground, bog coppers are hard to catch because of the habitat in which they live. Also, 85% of the bog coppers life span is spent in the egg. It is listed as a species of special concern in the US state of Connecticut.
The bright copper is a butterfly belonging to the family Lycaenidae.
The fiery copper or dull copper is an endemic Australian butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. One of the two subspecies, P. p. lucida, is commonly known as the Eltham copper.
