Lycaena phlaeas

Le Lycaena phlaeas est un insecte lépidoptère de la famille des lycénidés. Il porte le nom vernaculaire de Cuivré commun ou Bronzé sous sa forme imago (papillon).
* Envergure : 12 à 15 mm.
* Habitat : milieux ouverts et fleuris, jusqu'à plus de 2 000 m.
* Période de vol : mars à novembre, deux à quatre générations en fonction de la latitude.
* Plantes-hôtes : Rumex sp., Polygonum sp..
* Répartition : Europe, Asie tempérée, Japon, de l'Afrique du Nord jusqu'au Kenya.






Identification: Upper surface of forewing shiny, fiery orange-red with black spots; hindwing gray with orange-red outer margin. Underside gray; hindwing with submarginal row of orange-red zigzags.
Life history: Males perch on grass or weeds to look for females. Eggs are laid singly on host plant stems or leaves. Young caterpillars chew holes in the underside of leaves; older ones make channels in the leaf tissue. Chrysalids overwinter.
Flight: One flight from July-September for alpine and arctic populations. Two flights in the north from June-July and August-September; three flights in the south from April-September.
Caterpillar hosts: Herbs of the buckwheat (Polygonaceae) family including sheep sorrel (Rumex acetosella), curled dock (Rumex crispus), and Oxyria digyna.
Adult food: Nectar from many flowers including common buttercup, white clover, butterflyweed, yarrow, ox-eye daisy, and various composites.