Purple-edged copper
| Purple-edged copper | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Lycaena hippothoe. Male, upperface | |
 | |
| Lycaena hippothoe eurydame. Male, underface | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Lycaenidae |
| Genus: | Lycaena |
| Species: | L. hippothoe |
| Binomial name | |
| Lycaena hippothoe (Linnaeus, 1761) | |
| Synonyms | |
|
List
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The purple-edged copper (Lycaena hippothoe) is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae.
Sub-species
Subspecies include: [1]
- Lycaena hippothoe hippothoe (Linnaeus, 1761)
- Lycaena hippothoe stiberi (Gerhard, 1853) – Scandinavia, Urals, Siberia.
- Lycaena hippothoe eurydame (Hoffmannsegg, 1806) – Alps.
- Lycaena hippothoe eurybia (Ochsenheimer, 1808) - (Altai Mountain, Sayan Mountains, Far East).
- Lycaena hippothoe amurensis (Staudinger, 1892 - (Transbaikalia, Amur River, Ussuri),
- Lycaena hippothoe cisalpina (Fruhstorfer, 1909)
Lycaena hippothoe eurydame is considered by some authors a valid species with the name of Lycaena euryname. [2][3][4]
Distribution
This species is present in the Western Europe and in Siberia up to the region of the river Amur.[1][2]
Habitat
It inhabits forest edges, swampy and damp meadows, clearings and river banks, at an elevation of 400–1,800 metres (1,300–5,900 ft) above sea level. [5][6]
Description
Lycaena hippothoe can reach a wingspan of 34–38 millimetres (1.3–1.5 in).[7][5] The upperface of the wings is deep orange-red in males, with a brown or purple edging (hence the common name). The spots in the forewing post discal row form an arc. The female's appearance varies between subspecies, they are usually very dark brown, with brown spots on the forewings.[8] The underside is virtually the same in both sexes. It is light orange and light brown with brown-black spots surrounded by white. The larvae are green and grow up to 20 millimeters long. This species is rather similar to Lycaena alciphron and Lycaena virgaureae.
Biology
This species has one generation in June in northern and eastern Europe, two generations in May and then in July in southern Europe. [9] Females lay eggs individually by June-July. Caterpillars feed on Rumex spp. (mainly on Rumex acetosella, Rumex acetosa, Rumex hydrolapathum, Rumex confertus) and Polygonum bistorta. [1] Caterpillars hibernate after the first molt. They pupate on the ground. Adults fly from June–July to September. [5]
Gallery
Male, recto
Male, verso
Female, recto
Female, verso
External links
- Paolo Mazzei, Daniel Morel, Raniero Panfili Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa
- Lepidoptera collection
- Larvae of North-European Lepidoptera
References
- 1 2 3 Funet
- 1 2 Fauna europaea
- ↑ Simona Bonelli, Francesca Barbero, Luca Pietro Caszacci, Cristiana Cerrato& Emilio Balletto The butterfl y fauna of the Italian Maritime Alps: results of the EDIT project
- ↑ E. Balletto, L. Cassulo & S. Bonelli An annotated Checklist of the Italian Butterflies and Skippers (Papilionoidea, Hesperiioidea) ZOOTAXA 2014
- 1 2 3 Simon Coombes Captain's European Butterfly Guide
- ↑ Lepiforum.de
- ↑ UK Butterflies
- ↑ EuroButterflies by Matt Rowlings
- ↑ Tom Tolman et Richard Lewington, Guide des papillons d'Europe et d'Afrique du Nord, Delachaux et Niestlé, 1997 (ISBN 978-2-603-01649-7)