#copper butterfly

[adrians-digital-nature]

My first small copper butterfly.

[drhoz]

#3706 - Lycaena tama - Canterbury Alpine Boulder Copper

Photo by @purrdence. She's certain done better that I usually do, trying to sneak up on these small alert butterflies.

Aotearoa has quite a variety of Lycaena butterflies, but many of them are still awaiting proper description. This one of the few that actually has been. This one is a male, showing some of the intense purple iridescence that distinguishs them from the females.

Here's a photo from the perfect angle -

photo by Mike Bowie on iNaturalist.

It was named tama as a distinct species by New Zealand lawyer, artist and amateur entomologist R. W. Fereday (1820-1899), after "a traditionary Maori chief of that name." Feredey collected at least 616 different species of moth and butterfly in New Zealand, and sent them back to scientists in Europe. He was also an advocate for using inspectors to control for pests in incoming goods, and for importing bumblebees to improve clover pollination.

L. tama lives in the Mackenzie Basin, the upper reachs of the Canterbury Plain, and the drier eastern slopes of the Southern Alps. The caterpillars feed on  pohuehue (Muehlenbeckia complexa).

Ashburton Lakes, Aotearoa New Zealand.

[drhoz]

#3851 - Lycaena sp.

Yet another of the undescribed Coppers from New Zealand. This one is part of the Common Copper Group, but is still awaiting proper study.

If it's like many of the others, probably likes Muehlenbeckia as a foodplant for its caterpillars. I think it's currently resting on some.

Roaring Bay, Nugget Point, Aotearoa New Zealand.

[drhoz]

#2287 - Lycaena boldenarum - North Island Boulder Copper

Male above, female below. I must have spent an hour trying to photograph these - everytime I got close they'd either take off or be chased off by a ravenous Tiger Beetle.

AKA pepe para riki. Described by the Scottish entomologist Adam White in honour of his first wife, Helen and her sister Frances, nee Bolden. There are three subspecies - boldenarum, caerulea, and ianthina. The latter is critically endangered.

Despite the common name, found on North AND South Island, and actually more widespread on the South Island. It's found in open habitats including grassland, shingle, sand dunes and braided rivers.

The caterpillars feed on Muehlenbeckia axillaris and seem to be gaurded by Monomorium ants.

Rangipo Desert, North island Volcanic Plateau, New Zealand

[drhoz]

#2670 - Undescribed Lycaena sp.

A known but as yet undescribed Common Copper that I spotted near the two tourist centers near Aoraki. If they're anything like the Boulder Copper, the caterpillars will probably be found on the Muehlenbeckia. The second one was one of many insects feeding from the flowers of a Koromiko near the Tasman Glacier moraine.

Aoraki / Mt Cook, Aotearoa New Zealand.

[drhoz]

#2729 - Lycaena sp.

ANOTHER known but undescribed species of Lycaena.

Shag Point, Aotearoa New Zealand.

[zanthiakhalaplace]

The cute copper butterfly mermaid likes to explore the sea floor.

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