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Great Copper (Lycaena xanthoides [Boisduval])
Wing span: 1 1/4 - 1 3/4 inches (3.3 - 4.4 cm).
Identification: Gray above with orange band and black spots along edge of hindwing. Below tan with black spots. Orange trim on hind trim on hindwing.
Life history: Males perch and patrol flats and streambeds in search of receptive females.
Flight: May to mid-August, usually late May to mid-July.
Caterpillar hosts: Several dock species.
Adult food: Flower nectar.
Habitat: Open foothills and valleys.
Range: Southern Oregon south through westside California to extreme northern Baja California.
Conservation: None required, although range is being invaded by exotic European weeds that may reduce habitat suitability and availability. Subspecies obsolescens limited to Hunter Mountain in Death Valley National Monument is extremely limited in distribution.
The Nature Conservancy Global Rank: G-5. Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery. Subspecies obsolescens is ranked G5T1.
Management needs: None reported.
References:
Emmel, T.C. and J.F. Emmel. 1973. The butterflies of southern California.
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles. 148 pages.
Garth, J.S. and J.W. Tilden. 1986.California Butterflies. University of California
Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles. 246 pp, 24 plates.
Opler, P.A. 1999. A field guide to western butterflies. Houghton-Mifflin Co.,
Boston, Mass. 540 pages, 44 color plates.
Scott, J. A. 1986. The butterflies of North America. Stanford University Press,
Stanford, Calif. 583 pages, 64 color plates.
Stanford, R. E. and P. A. Opler. 1993. Atlas of western USA butterflies including
adjacent parts of Canada and Mexico. Denver and Fort Collins, CO.
Author: Paul A. Opler
State and Regional References:
Brown, J.W., Real, H.G., and D.K. Faulkner. 1992. Butterflies of Baja
California. Lepidoptera Research Foundation, Beverly Hills, Calif.
Comstock, J.A. 1927. Butterflies of California. Privately published, Los
Angeles, Calif. [Facsimile available from Entomological Reprint
Specialists, Los Angeles, Calif.]
Dameron, W. 1997. Searching for butterflies in southern California.
Flutterby Press, Los Angeles, Calif.
Emmel, T.C. Editor. 1998. Systematics of western North American butterflies.
Mariposa Press, Gainesville, Florida.
Emmel, T. C. and J. F. Emmel. 1973. The Butterflies of Southern California.
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County Science Series No. 26.
Garth, J.S. and J.W. Tilden. 1986. California Butterflies. California Natural
History Guide 51. University of California Press, Berkeley and Los
Angeles.
Langston, R.L. 1981. The Rhopalocera of Santa Cruz Island, California. Journal
of Research on the Lepidoptera 18: 24-35.
Miller, Scott E. 1985. Butterflies of the Califorenia Channel Islands. Journal
of the Research on the Lepidoptera 23: 282-296.
Opler, Paul A. 1999. Peterson Field Guide to Western Butterflies, revised
edition. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Mass.
Orsak, L.J. 1977. The Butterflies of Orange County, California. Museum of
Systematic Biology, University of california, Irvine.
Stanford, R.E. and P.A. Opler. 1993. Atlas of Western USA Butterflies.
Privately published, Denver, Colo.
Steiner, J. 1990. Bay Area Butterflies: The Distribution and Natural History
of San Francisco Region Rhopalocera. Hayward, Calif.: Hayward State
University, Masters Thesis.
Tilden, J.W. and A.C. Smith. 1986. A Field Guide to Western Butterflies.
Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Mass.
Tilden, J.W. 1965. Butterflies of the San Francisco Bay Region. California
Natural History Guide 12. University of California Press, Berkeley and
Los Angeles.
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