CreatureData

American copper

Lycaena phlaeas (Linnaeus, 1761)

Status not recordedbutterflies and moths

The American copper (Lycaena phlaeas) is an insect in the butterflies and moths group, belonging to the family Lycaenidae and the order Lepidoptera. It is also called the Small copper or Common copper, and its scientific name was authored by (Linnaeus, 1761).

American copper (Lycaena phlaeas)
Photo: Adrian Tync · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the American copper

Its wingspan has a representative value of 2.55 cm, with reported values from 2.1 to 3 cm. It is placed in the superfamily Papilionoidea, subfamily Lycaeninae, tribe Lycaenini and genus Lycaena.

Weight
Not recorded
Length
Not recorded
Wingspan
2.1 cm – 3.7 cmsrc for Wingspan
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Scavengersrc for Diet
Main food
flowerssrc for Main food
Habitat
grassland, human_modifiedsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Active
By day (diurnal)src for Active
On the wing
February to Decembersrc for On the wing
Generations a year
Severalsrc for Generations a year
Larval food plants
Polygonaceae familysrc for Larval food plants
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
Not recorded

How big is the American copper?

AMERICAN COPPER · WINGSPAN 3.7 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 3.7 cm, the recorded maximum wingspan of the American copper is about 2.2% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Photos of the American copper

Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.

American copper (Lycaena phlaeas)
Stephan Sprinz · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
American copper (Lycaena phlaeas)
Andreas Eichler · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
American copper (Lycaena phlaeas)
Andreas Eichler · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
American copper (Lycaena phlaeas)
Alvesgaspar · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
American copper (Lycaena phlaeas)
Zeynel Cebeci · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
American copper (Lycaena phlaeas)
Ivar Leidus · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
American copper (Lycaena phlaeas)
Charles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
American copper (Lycaena phlaeas)
Judy Gallagher · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Where does the American copper live?

Not recorded

What is the American copper?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

Lycaena phlaeas, the small copper, American copper, or common copper, is a butterfly of the Lycaenids or gossamer-winged butterfly family. According to Guppy and Shepard (2001), its specific name phlaeas is said to be derived either from the Greek φλέγω (phlégo), "to burn up", or from the Latin floreo, "to flourish".

From the Wikipedia article “Lycaena phlaeas” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lycaena_phlaeas&oldid=1349535692), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the American copper endangered?

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

How is the American copper classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumArthropoda
  3. classInsecta
  4. orderLepidoptera
  5. familyLycaenidae
  6. genusLycaena
  7. SpeciesLycaena phlaeas (Linnaeus, 1761)

Synonyms Argus phlaeas, Argus xanthe, Chrysophanus angustimargo, Chrysophanus couteaui, Chrysophanus major, Chrysophanus minor, Chrysophanus oberthuri, Chrysophanus phlaeas, Chrysophanus phlaeas polaris, Chrysophanus polaris, Chrysophanus pusilla, Chrysophanus semialba, Chrysophanus spoliata, Chrysophanus stygianus, Heodes berviniensis, Heodes phlaeas, Hesperia eleus, Lycaena addenda, Lycaena alba, Lycaena albacaudata, Lycaena albicans, Lycaena anteroalba, Lycaena antibasijuncta, Lycaena apicalisjuncta, Lycaena apicepunctata, Lycaena auronitens, Lycaena auroradiata, Lycaena basijuncta, Lycaena basilipuncta, Lycaena bipunctata, Lycaena caeca, Lycaena caeruleopunctata, Lycaena centriconjuncta, Lycaena coeruleopuncta, Lycaena cuneifera, Lycaena cupreopunctata, Lycaena cuprinus, Lycaena dextroalba, Lycaena discojuncta, Lycaena eleuscaeruleopunctata, Lycaena extensa, Lycaena extensaconjuncta, Lycaena extincta, Lycaena fasciatacaeruleopunctata, Lycaena fasciatus, Lycaena fusca, Lycaena fuscata, Lycaena fuscatacaudata, Lycaena hubneri, Lycaena hubneri, Lycaena ignita, Lycaena ignitacaudata, Lycaena impunctata, Lycaena infraextensa, Lycaena infraradiata, Lycaena infuscata, Lycaena initia, Lycaena initiacaudata, Lycaena intermedia, Lycaena juncta, Lycaena junctacaudata, Lycaena kochi, Lycaena latomarginata, Lycaena magnipuncta, Lycaena major, Lycaena minor, Lycaena nigroapicata, Lycaena obsoleta, Lycaena obsoletacaeruleopunctata, Lycaena parallela, Lycaena partimauroradiata, Lycaena parvipuncta, Lycaena paucimaculata, Lycaena paucipunctata, Lycaena phlaeas, Lycaena phlaeas eleus, Lycaena phlaeas f. caeruleofasciata, Lycaena phlaeas polaris, Lycaena polaris, Lycaena postistriata, Lycaena punctisnigrisremotis, Lycaena purpureotincta, Lycaena radiata, Lycaena radiata, Lycaena remota, Lycaena remotajuncta, Lycaena rubrohastata, Lycaena rufomargo, Lycaena schmidtiicaudata, Lycaena semiobscurata, Lycaena semischmidtii, Lycaena subradiata, Lycaena supraminorpunctat, Lycaena supraradiata, Lycaena transiens, Lycaena typicacaudata, Lycaena ultrarufomargo, Lycaena unipuncta, Lycaena webbi, Papilio phlaeas, Papilio virgaureae, Papilio xanthe, Polyommatus phlaeas, Polyommatus phlaeas cuprinus, Polyommatus turcicus, Polyommatus xanthe

Other names and names in other languages (2)
  • Common copperEnglish
  • Small copperEnglish

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaITISWikidata

Relatives of the American copper

Other species in the same genus Lycaena.

CompareAmerican copper vs Large copperAmerican copper vs Scarce copperAmerican copper vs Purple-edged copperAmerican copper vs Pepe Pora riki

Common questions

Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.

What kind of animal is the American copper?

The American copper is an insect in the butterflies and moths group. It belongs to the order Lepidoptera and the family Lycaenidae.

What is the scientific name of the American copper?

The scientific name of the American copper is Lycaena phlaeas, placing it in the genus Lycaena.

What is the wingspan of the American copper?

The American copper has a representative wingspan of 2.55 cm. Reported values range from 2.1 to 3 cm.

What other names does the American copper have?

The American copper is also called the Small copper and the Common copper.

What family and subfamily does the American copper belong to?

The American copper belongs to the family Lycaenidae and the subfamily Lycaeninae, within the tribe Lycaenini.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). American copper (Lycaena phlaeas). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/american-copper

MLA

“American copper (Lycaena phlaeas).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/american-copper.

BibTeX
@misc{american_copper_2026,
  title = {American copper (Lycaena phlaeas)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/american-copper},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}