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Subfamily Lycaeninae - Coppers

MN Aug - Lycaena phlaeas Ruddy Copper (Lycaena rubidus) ? - Lycaena rubida - male Purplish Copper Butterfly? - Lycaena helloides Ruddy Copper? - Lycaena rubida - female Blue butterfly - Lycaena arota Lustrous Copper A - Lycaena cupreus Butterfly species? - Lycaena nivalis Lycaena nivalis - female
Show images of: caterpillars · adults · both
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
Superfamily Papilionoidea (Butterflies and Skippers)
Family Lycaenidae (Blues, Coppers, Hairstreaks, Harvesters)
Subfamily Lycaeninae (Coppers)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Often considered as a tribe - "Lycaenini" under a broader concept of subfamily Lycaeninae, which also incudes Blues and Hairstreaks (and others) as just tribes.
Numbers
Only one genus is represented in North America north of Mexico - Lycaena, with approximately four or more additional occuring in other regions.
Range
Nearly world-wide, mostly in boreal, temperate, or montane regions; not in South America or Australia (but present in Papua New Guinea and New Zealand).
Food
Primarily members of family Polygonaceae, including genera Rumex, Oxyria, Polygonum, Eriogonum, Muehlenbeckia, etc. Occasionally other families such as Rosaceae (Dasiphora, Potentilla), Ericaceae (Vaccinium), and Fabaceae (Cytisus).