# American copper (*Lycaena phlaeas*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/american-copper  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

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). 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.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | Not recorded |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 2.1 cm – 3.7 cm |
| Lifespan | Not recorded |
| Diet | Scavenger |
| Main food | flowers |
| Habitat | grassland, human_modified |
| Young per litter or clutch | Not recorded |
| Active | By day (diurnal) |
| On the wing | February to December |
| Generations a year | Several |
| Larval food plants | Polygonaceae family |
| Conservation status | Not recorded |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Arthropoda
- class: Insecta
- order: Lepidoptera
- family: Lycaenidae
- genus: Lycaena
- species: *Lycaena 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*

## Common questions

### 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

- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [LepTraits 1.0: a globally comprehensive dataset of butterfly traits](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.19874602.v1), CC0 1.0, 1.0. Shirey, V., Larsen, E., Doherty, A. et al. (2022) LepTraits 1.0: a globally comprehensive dataset of butterfly traits. Scientific Data 9: 382. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-022-01473-5. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.19874602.v1
- [TraitCH: a multi-taxa functional trait dataset for Switzerland and Europe](https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15063844), CC BY 4.0, 2.0. Chauvier, Y., Adde, A., Bergamini, A. et al. (2025) TraitCH: a multi-taxa functional trait dataset for Switzerland and Europe. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15063844
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

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