Mariposa Copper

Resident in northwestern North America (Scott 1986). Habitats are FOREST BOGS AND CLEARINGS. Hosts plants are usually herbaceous with known hosts from ERICACEAE. Individuals overwinter as eggs. There is one flight each year with the approximate flight time JUL15-AUG31 (Scott 1986).

Not of concern.

One yearly flight, peaking in mid July to early August.

A western cordilleran species; occurs from the southern Yukon south to Central California and Wyoming. Ranges east in the boreal forest to west-central Saskatchewan (Layberry et al. 1998, Opler 1999).

The mottled grey and black underside makes this a very distinctive copper. Subspecies penroseae occurs in Alberta.

Meadows and clearings in coniferous forest.

Unlike many of the other coppers in Alberta, Mariposa is usually not associated with wetlands. Trails and clearings in the lodgepole pine forests of the foothills are good places to look for this species.

Canadian populations were originally believed to feed on members of the Polygonaceae (Polygonum douglasii and Rumex, Hooper 1973, Bird et al. 1995). Recent evidence shows that bog billberry (Vaccinium uliginosum) and small cranberry (V. oxycoccos) are hosts in BC (Guppy & Shepard 2001). Vaccinium species will likely prove to be the hostplants in Alberta.

Lycaena mariposa, the mariposa copper, is a butterfly of the family Lycaenidae. It is found in western Canada and the United States.

The wingspan is 23–28 mm. Adults are on wing from mid-July to August.

The larvae feed on Vaccinium arbuscula and Polygonum douglasii.