Bronze Copper

Lycaena hyllus · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Sesiidae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Bronze Copper
Photo: iNaturalist user, CC0

The bronze copper is a North American lycaenid butterfly with a wingspan of about 23 to 38 mm. It lives from western Canada and the northern US eastward to the Atlantic coasts, ranging from Alberta to northern Nevada.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

The upper side is brown with golden zig-zag borders along the hindwing edges. Females show lighter patches on the forewings that contain several dark spots. The underside is mainly white, marked with dark spots and orange areas underneath.

Source: Wikipedia

Size

Its wingspan ranges from 23 to 38 mm.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it lives

It is a lycaenid butterfly found across North America.

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

Caterpillars feed on Polygonaceae plants such as water dock, curled dock, and various Persicaria amphibia. Adults have been seen sipping nectar from blackberry and red clover flowers.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 34 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Vermont, New York, Iowa, Connecticut, Kentucky.

Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.

Source: GBIF

Status: native in North America; native in United States; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Bronze Copper photo 2
Photo: iNaturalist user, CC0
Bronze Copper photo 3
Photo: Bernie Paquette, CC BY
Bronze Copper photo 4
Photo: Bernie Paquette, CC BY
Bronze Copper photo 5
Photo: psweet, CC BY-SA

Questions people ask

What plants do bronze copper caterpillars eat?

They feed on water dock, curled dock, and other Polygonaceae like Persicaria amphibia.

Source: Wikipedia

Same family (Sesiidae)

Purplish CopperPurplish CopperLycaena helloidesSquash Vine BorerSquash Vine BorerEichlinia cucurbitaeDamages trees, gardens or cropsMaple Callus Borer MothMaple Callus Borer MothSynanthedon acerniDamages trees, gardens or cropsSouthern Red RimSouthern Red RimBiblis hyperiaPeachtree Borer MothPeachtree Borer MothSynanthedon exitiosaDamages trees, gardens or cropsBog CopperBog CopperLycaena epixanthe

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lycaena_hyllus

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-24.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.