Fluturat e Shqipërisë
Butterflies of Albania

Sylvain Cuvelier =
Anila Paparisto =

Last update: 12.iv.2024

Lycaena dispar / Large Copper
Flakëroshja e artë e madhe
Lycaenidae - Lycaeninae

Lycaena dispar ([Haworth], 1802). TL: England.

1a. Lycaena dispar, distribution map. Historical data ; Additional data from the 2018 update ; New observations since the 2018 update.
1b. Lycaena dispar ♀ upperside. Belgium (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1c. Lycaena dispar copula. Belgium (© Sylvain Cuvelier)
1d. Lycaena dispar ♂ underside. Romania (© Sylvain Cuvelier)

Description
♂♂
Small butterfly. Fw: 17-18 mm.
Ups: orange-red gc.
Upf: narrow black discal bar, narrow black marginal borders.
Uph: very narrow black bar, narrow black marginal borders.
Unf: large bright orange gc except grey marginal band, nearly aligned row of postdiscal spots.
Unh: yellowish-grey gc, paler and often less developed submarginal band.
♀♀
Larger size.
Ups: orange-red gc.
Upf: nearly aligned row of postdiscal spots, wider marginal border.
Unf: conspicuous orange submarginal band.
Unh: similar to ♂♂.

Similar species

Other Lycaena are smaller and with different uns. Comparison with Lycaena thersamon ♂♂ Upf: narrow black margin Upf: no discal spot (see through!). Upf: orange gc. Uph: pink-purple reflections. Uph: orange gc. Unh: greyish-pale brown gc. Unh: discontinuous orange sm band. ♀♀ Upf: marginal dots. Unh: pale brown basal gc. Unh: small tail (more pronounced in summer) Unh: narrow orange sm band. Unh: sm band with dots on internal side.

Life cycle
Adults: two or three generations from second half of April to September, long life span.
Egg: 5-11 days.
Caterpillar: overwintering as L3 larva, feeding again in spring, in summer before second generation: 3-5 weeks.
Pupa: 10-24 days.

Habitat
Lycaena dispar inhabits rough areas with damp places and wet ditches from lowland up to 1000 m a.s.l.
Spatial requirement high, population density low.

Foodplants
Caterpillars feed on Rumex acetosa, , R. aquaticus, R. conglomeratus, Rumex crispus, R. hydrolapathum, R. obtusifolius, R. patientia and R. sanguineus. Rarely mentioned is Iris pseudacorus.
Butterflies feed on available flowers.

Distribution
Albania: very local (more research needed)
Balkan: AL - BG - BIH - GR - HR - NMK - MNE - RKS - RO - SLO - SRB
Europe: IB - IT - ALP - BAL - NWE* - UK - SCA - EEU
Asia Minor, Transcaucasia, Caucasus and further east.

Conservation status
Lycaena dispar is not endangered.
Albanian Red List: VU.
IUCN Red List, category at the Mediterranean level: NA.

Useful links
Bink
Pyrgus.de
Lepiforum
Euroleps

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