Page 165 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

BUTTERFLY CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Lycaenidae
DISTRIBUTION France, the Netherlands, and eastern Europe into
Russia and Kazakhstan
HABITAT Damp grasslands and meadows, and marshes
HOST PLANTS Various docks and sorrels (Rumex spp.)

NOTE Well-camouflaged green caterpillar that is found
in wetland habitats
CONSERVATION STATUS Near threatened

ADULT WINGSPAN
1⅛–1¼ in (28–32 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH
¾ in (20 mm)
LYCAENA DISPAR
LARGE COPPER 163

(HAWORTH, 1803)

The female Large Copper lays eggs, either singly or in small
groups, on the leaves of host plants found near water. Two weeks
later the eggs hatch, and the caterpillars feed on the underside of
leaves, leaving the upper surface intact. Their nibbling creates a
small groove in which the young larvae rest. As they get older,
they feed on the whole leaf. The young caterpillar overwinters
at the base of the host plant and is able to survive for as long as
two months underwater if its habitat floods in winter. It resumes

feeding and pupates the following spring as a yellow-brown
chrysalis attached by silk to the host plant stem.

The adults, which have beautiful, iridescent copper wings, eclose

and fly from June to July. The species has experienced a severe
decline in much of its range due to the loss of its wetland habitats.
In some regions, notably the United Kingdom, the species
became extinct, and there have been several failed attempts
to reintroduce it.

Actual size

The Large Copper caterpillar is green in color,
plump, and tapered toward the back. There are
faint vertical white lines marking the segments
and scattered white dots. The body is covered
in tiny, white setae.