Bug FAQScarce Copper
Lycaena virgaureae · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Lycaenidae
The scarce copper butterfly has red-golden upper wings in males and cinnabar-red in females, with black margins and spots; the underside is leather-yellow with sparse black spots and sometimes a white chain of pale dots on the hindwing. It lives in flower-rich dry or damp meadows, clearings, mountain sides and flowery slopes across Europe to East Siberia, flying from late June through August. Caterpillars feed on sorrel, while adults sip nectar from ground-elder, Eupatorium, valerian and burnet saxifrage.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Males show red-golden upper wings with a narrow black edge and dark dots on the hindwing; females are cinnabar-red with black spots and less dusting on the underside. The underside is leather-yellow, sparsely spotted with black, and the outer third of the hindwing may have pale dots that sometimes form a white chain.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
A small form called oranula occurs in Lapland and looks much like the typical form.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Caterpillars are green, nocturnal, and feed on sorrel. Adults feed on the flowers of ground-elder, Eupatorium, valerian and burnet saxifrage.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Eggs overwinter, and a single generation emerges from mid-July to mid-September.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its range stretches from the Atlantic coasts across Europe to East Siberia, reaching the Arctic Circle in the north and north-west Greece in the south, but it is absent from Great Britain and Japan.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
In Lapland the small form oranula looks very similar to the typical scarce copper. Females from some central European populations have a paler ground colour and fewer dark dustings compared with the typical form.
Source: Wikipedia
More photos
Questions people ask
When can I see scarce copper butterflies?
They fly from late June into August, with the main generation appearing from mid-July to mid-September.
Source: Wikipedia
What flowers do adult scarce coppers visit?
Adults sip nectar from ground-elder, Eupatorium, valerian and burnet saxifrage.
Source: Wikipedia
Where is the scarce copper found?
It occurs from the Atlantic coasts across Europe to East Siberia, reaching the Arctic Circle in the north and north-west Greece in the south, but not in Great Britain or Japan.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Lycaenidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scarce_copper
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.