Lycaena dione

Lycaena dione, the grey copper or great copper, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. The species was first described by Samuel Hubbard Scudder in 1868. It is found from the southern Prairie provinces of Canada and western Ontario south to Texas and east to Illinois and Missouri. There is a disjunct population in southern British Columbia.[2] A remnant population was found in the Willamette Valley, Oregon, as of the summer of 2004.[3]

Grey copper
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family:
Lycaenidae
Genus:
Lycaena
Species:
L. dione
Binomial name
Lycaena dione
(Scudder, 1868)[1]
Synonyms
  • Chrysophanus dione Scudder, 1868
  • Gaeides dione

The wingspan is 24–38 mm. Adults are on wing from mid-June to July or August. They feed on the nectar of Cirsium, Medicago sativa, Grindelia species and Melilotus species.

The larval host plants are Rumex salicifolius, Rumex crispus and Rumex occidentalis.

Taxonomy

Lycaena dione is sometimes treated as a subspecies of Lycaena xanthoides.[4]

References
  1. Lycaena at Markku Savela's website on Lepidoptera
  2. Schmidt, B. C. "Species Details Lycaena dione". University of Alberta Museums. E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  3. "Great Copper butterfly". Oregonstate.edu. Retrieved 2020-01-02.
  4. Bug Guide


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