18th Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest Natural World
Female Sooty Copper, Lycaena tityrus

Female Sooty Copper, Lycaena tityrus. Small copper with sooty upperwings. Underwings marked with black eyespots. Sexually dimorphic. Wingspan 28-30mm. Larval food: Rumex sp. Rumex acetosa and Rumex acetosella. Habitat: dry grasslands, superficially acidophilous grasslands, wet meadows with tall grasses. L tityrus lives on edges of agricultural fields with extensive grazing and mowing twice a season. Flight: April-September.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 05.2019
Date Uploaded: 11.2020
Photo Location: Celakovice-Jirina, Czechia
Camera: Canon EOS 5D Mark II
Copyright: © Mary C Legg